Sirius' Choice
by Whimsical Firefly
Summary: Semi MWPP era. Sirius Black is judged by a council of the dead, who give him him a second chance at life. But eventually he will have to chose between the future he knows or the one he wants. More indepth summary inside. Please R
1. Land of the Dead

**Sirius' Choice**

**Chapter One: Land of the Dead**

_Pretty Blue Firefly_

**Summary:** Sirius is brought before a council of dead. They review his history, and decide that his past is not fair. They put him back through the veil of death and Sirius rejoices.

However, when he makes it out he realises he's 16 years in his past. He can change the future (somehow). Lily and James stay alive as he remains their secret keeper, the Longbottoms go into hiding as well on his warning. However, there is a problem – without Harry or Neville marked, the prophecy can't come true. Voldemort is still at large and more and more wizards are dying every day. It seems nothing can hinder his growing power.

Sirius has to rectify his mistake. He must now choose between the future he knows or the future he wants.

**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter does not belong to me, but to J.K. Rowling.

= = = = = = = = =

_Only one pair was still battling, apparently unaware of the new arrival. Harry saw Sirius duck Bellatrix's jet of red light: he was laughing at her._

_'Come on, you can do better than that!' he yelled, his voice echoing around the cavernous room._

_The second jet of light hit him squarely on the chest._

_The laughter had not quite died from his face, but his eyes widened in shock._

_It seemed to take Sirius an age to fall: his body curved in a graceful arc as he sank backwards through the ragged veil hanging from the arch._

_Harry saw the look of mingled fear and surprise on his godfather's wasted, once-handsome face as he fell through the ancient doorway and disappeared through behind the veil, which fluttered for a moment as though in a high wind, then fell back into place._

_Harry heard Bellatrix Lestrange's triumphant scream, but knew it meant nothing – Sirius had only just fallen through the archway, he would reappear from the other side any second…_

_But Sirius did not reappear._

=========

Sirius Black felt his body move through a mist of darkness. A woman's mocking laughter followed him distantly, as did a cry of "SIRIUS!"

But Sirius could not answer – they were too far away. He fell, but his mind stayed with the one who had called out to him. Harry…

He landed with a hard thump on the ground and lay there for a few moments, breathing heavily. Exactly how far had he fallen, anyway?

"Far enough." Came a soft voice outside his field of vision. Sirius sat up and turned around hesitantly. There was a woman, with night-black hair, pale skin and ruby lips. She reminded him of the princess from the muggle fairytale, Snow White. Except it looked like this snow white had gotten some attitude.

Sirius swallowed. "Who are you?"

"Not Snow White, that's for sure." The woman smirked as a look of surprise flitted across Sirius' face. "I am Amy, the temporary guardian of the veil."

"So the veil really is a gateway to Death?" sighed Sirius.

"Yes. The only physical gateway to death in your world. And you are the first one in many centuries to have fallen through it."

Sirius laughed sardonically. "Lucky me, aye?"

Amy laughed. "Indeed." Her voice suddenly took on a deeper timbre, and her face became more serene. "Come. It is time for your judging."

She turned away from Sirius and began to walk off. "Hey!" he shouted as he hurriedly pushed himself up off the ground and began to follow.

As he sprinted to catch up with her his mind followed behind somewhat. _'Judging?'_

========

Sirius stood before a panel of seven. Three women, three men, and Death itself. Although patience had never been Sirius' strong point, he stood before them, reflecting at least some semblance of patience.

"Sirius Black." Came the disembodied voice of Death.

"Aye."

"You stand before the council of Death. We are your judge, your jury, your offence, your defence…how do you plead?"

Sirius furrowed his brow and looked to the others, for some hint, some gesture that could help him. There was none. "How do I…plead?"

"In your world you were charged with the death of innocents, of attacks to people and things that did not deserve it. How do you plead to your charge?"

"If you mean the death of Lily and James…not guilty. I am innocent."

Sirius could have sworn that he heard a note of puzzlement in Death's voice when it spoke next. "And yet… your heart says otherwise. I will ask you again, Sirius Black: how do you plead?"

He closed his eyes to stop the tears that threatened to overwhelm him. "I understand. I plead… I plead guilty. Guilty of second degree manslaughter, as the muggles say." Sirius paused. "Or would it be third?"

He looked up at Death's unmoving face and spoke again. "You have to understand, I didn't kill them, and yet by my actions, by my words…I as good as killed them. They would have used me as their secret keeper. But then something Remus said… _'Of course they'd make you their secret keeper, you're the obvious choice.'_ It was too obvious. I made them change, god only knows why I made them change. I could have handled it. Instead…I told them to make Peter Pettigrew their secret keeper. Little Peter Pettigrew, who no-one would suspect." Sirius gave a bark of laughter. "If only I'd known. Maybe it would have been different. Peter sold them to Voldemort. Voldemort…Voldemort murdered them."

There was finally some semblance of expression on Death's face. "This I knew, for as I said, I can see into your heart. You are innocent, and yet guilty, for your heart denies you peace." The jury stood up and filed off the stand.

"The court is adjourned. We shall make our decision now."

Sirius nodded and sat down where he had been standing. Resting his elbows on his knees, he buried his head in his hands. What decision would they reach? What could they do to him now?

From what he could remember he could be sent to Van Diemans, or to the Paradise. Or he could reject their decision altogether and become a ghost.

Become a ghost… But Sirius didn't like that idea. There was something cowardly in becoming a ghost. It was like backing out of your fate. His Marauders instincts kicked in. He would see this through.

He wondered idly how long it would take them to reach a decision, and what they would decide.

========

"You can't do that!" came Amy's outraged voice.

Death gave Amy a quelling look and looked back to the others. "Look at his past. He is a good man, but it hasn't gone the way it should."

One of the men spoke up. "I agree with both of you. He deserves what you ask for Master, and yet… it would be highly irregular. As far as I know we have never done it, or even anything like it before."

Death looked around the small room. "Does anyone else have any views they would like to raise?"

One of the women stood, a petite girl with dusky curls. "Even if we did do as you ask… would it make a difference? Could it save anyone? How do you know it wouldn't make things worse?"

Death sighed. Trust Isabella to see to the heart of the problem.

"It's like this, my friends. What I ask is, as you have all said, highly irregular. But it is not impossible. Merely… improbable, as I like to say. The real question is the one Isabella asked. Would it make any difference? And as to that… I do not know."

Looking around at the six unhappy faces, Death realised that its explanation would have to go further.

"It will change one life for sure, and that is the life of the man who stands… sits actually… outside this room. After that, as I said – I do not know. It would depend on his actions, and his decisions. But my heart… my heart says he could change almost everything."

Amy looked up from where she had been staring at the table previously. "You mean… it would all be good again? Light and Darkness could co-exist once more?"

Death nodded. "That is exactly what I mean. But it would depend on the decisions of Sirius Black."

Death looked to see his council appearing thoughtful. Closing its eyes, Death conjured up parchment and quills. "It is time to write down the vote. Write your decisions down, and hand them to me."

The council soberly reached out for their quills and began to write. Death closed its eyes once more and hoped that they would make the right decision.

========

Sirius lay back on the cold ground and stretched out his legs. Staring up at the pitch-black sky, he wondered what was going on. Of course, not that there's much point in worrying about it.

His mind drifted back to his days in Hogwarts. Those were good times. Full-moon adventures, Quidditch, Girls… Memories flashed through his mind quicker than he could latch onto them.

_A small, skinny James grinning impishly at him in first year… _

_Running from Filch after setting off two cartons of Doctor Filibuster's Fireworks in the Slytherin common room …_

_Remus curled up in the hospital wing after a full moon with a three small cuts across his cheekbone, and bruises on his arms … _

_Peter's face contorting with concentration as he tried to become an Animagus… _

_James chucking the golden snitch and catching it repeatedly… _

_Remus jumping over the bench to knock the stuffing out of Snape …_

_James turning Lily's hair green…_

_Running around as Padfoot on the first time they managed to become Animagi … _

_James and Lily fighting and Lily swearing she would never go out with James… _

_James and Lily together, very much in love … _

_Edana looking around the Great Hall, and smiling at him…_

_Remus getting his first girlfriend, with much protesting on his part…_

_Edana curled tightly against his chest… _

_Peter falling off his broom…_

_Remus transforming into a werewolf… _

_Winning the Quidditch Cup…_

_Edana… don't think about it Sirius… _

_Lily pregnant… _

_Harry…_

At last a memory that he could latch onto. Harry. A small baby with big blue eyes and a shock of black hair, just like James. A year later, and the baby is now slightly bigger, with emerald eyes and a happy grin… and then amongst the wreckage - crying and bewildered with a lightening slash across his forehead. _Now he's nearly a man,_ Sirius marveled.

Troubled – yes. Risk-taking and adventurous – naturally. But Harry came with a cautious edge that he and James had never possessed. Of all the Marauders, James was who Harry resembled the most, but it was Lupin who he took after most in character. Probably why the two of them got along so well. He hoped that Remus would look after Harry now that he was gone.

He remembered Harry trying to attack him that year when he'd escaped from Azkaban. He thought he had been the one to kill his parents. _Judged guilty again, Padfoot._

Then later during the Triwizard tournament – he had never been prouder of his Godson, all the things he managed to do.

Sirius's revelry was interrupted by the presence of Death. He sat up to see Death's council filing back into their row of seats.

He stood up and clasped his hands in front of himself as they sat down.

"We have reached a decision, Mr. Black."

He fought back the urge to comment sarcastically _'No…really?'_ and instead merely nodded.

A flicker of a smile flashed across some of the council member's face, and Sirius remembered that they could hear his thoughts.

"Yes, Mr. Black. _Really_."

Sirius blushed slightly and smiled sheepishly in return.

"Our verdict is that you are a good man. You have always fought for what you believe is right, you have killed, and tried to kill… but you have never killed lightly, or for the pleasure of it. You are loyal to your friends, for even when they give you reason to doubt, a part still remains loyal and protests their innocence."

Sirius nodded. So far so good.

"Those are good qualities, and ones to be proud of. But there are also some undesirable ones. A tendency to blame yourself for others doings. And you are rash. You do things without thinking about the effect it has on others."

Sirius nodded again. He did not consider them bad qualities, exactly, but he wouldn't deny that he possessed them.

"But your worst traits are yet to come. You mock people who are undeserving of it, you are suspicious, stubborn, and rude."

Sirius closed his eyes in understanding of what they meant. Kreacher, Severus, and many others whom he had mocked or tormented. There was little he could do about that now.

"What is your verdict?" he asked, his voice sounding velvet smooth and distant to him.

"Throughout your childhood you were punished wrongfully, many times. You have had many betray you, and lost many loved ones, including Edana."

Sirius felt a wetness trickle down his face and reached up to touch his cheek, surprised to feel tears. "What is your verdict?" he asked again, although this time his voice was rough.

"You have lived a life you shouldn't have, and made many mistakes. But there is goodness in your heart, and a desire to rectify them. And so our verdict is thus: You will live."

Sirius blinked several times before he found his voice again. "Live?"

But there was no answer, only a swirling light that filled him completely, then darkness once more.

========

Smoke was the first thing that Sirius saw and smelt. Shouts were the first noise that assaulted his ears. Sirius turned hesitantly in the direction of the shouts. The Dark Mark hovered above a building a few blocks away, and a man and a woman were running quickly, flashing looks back over their shoulders periodically.

The dark-haired man grabbed his companion's arm and turned around, shielding her in case of attack. He turned back, still bracing her arms. "I think we're far enough away now." He was gasping and attempting to smile reassuringly at his companion.

His fair-haired companion, nodded shakily and moved closer for a hug.

Sirius observed distantly that the two made an attractive couple. He was tall, broad-shouldered, with chin-length black hair, whilst she too was tall, coming up to about his cheekbone, with long fair hair.

"They… they came so fast. We had no warning." She sobbed. "We couldn't save them. They…we…Why couldn't we save them Siri?"

Sirius gaped at the couple and then took a closer look at woman. If that was _him_ then…

"I don't know, Edana." The man said softly. "I only wish it could have been different."

Sirius shook his head at the young couple slowly, trying to deny their existence. However, there was no getting around it – that was him and Edana, all those years ago.

His head swam and he felt dizzy. If that was really Edana…then…

He was alive. And if he wasn't mistaken he had been given a second chance.

Sirius turned and fled.

=========

_AN: Thanks go to James Milamber for editing this chapter. If you haven't already read his story called Harry Potter and the Mind Mage, I would definitly recommend it._

_Please let me know what you thought of this chapter and review!_


	2. Time Distortion

**Sirius' Choice**

**Chapter Two: Time Distortion**

_Whimsical Firefly_

**Authors Note**: Massive thankyou to all who reviewed (more specifically - Renatinha Black, palmetazo, maggie black, and artstaar!)

Oh, and of course thankyou especially to James Milamber for editing this. Once again if you haven't read his story, you should because it's bloody amazing.

**Disclaimer**: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter and all recognizable characters

=========

_He opened his eyes slowly, worried that the night before had been just a dream. She was still curled up daintily in his arms, with a calm look upon her face. _

_Sirius wrapped his arms around her once more, and buried his face into her shoulder. She stirred slightly and whispered his name. Instinctively her hand sought his and he was more than willing to hold it. Clasping her left hand he traced the scar that ran from the base of her forefinger towards the base of her thumb._

_A quick glance at the clock told him their time was running out. Soon the other members of their dormitories would be making their way down the stairs to get to the great hall. In fact, he was surprised that they hadn't been disturbed already._

_He shook the girls shoulder gently. "Wake up!"_

_She curled up tighter still. "Come on 'Dana! Wake up before some one catches us…"_

_"Too late!" came a chorus of voices from nowhere. Sirius looked up in time to see James, Remus and Peter appearing from underneath the cloak with a camera._

_"Cheese!" James said teasingly, before pressing down the 'capture' button. "Payback for when you did that to me and Lily, eh Padfoot?"_

_Sirius regarded his best friends momentarily, then looked down at Edana. "Darling," he said in mock lordly tones. "I feel I have some… business to attend to. Do you mind?"_

_Edana turned looked up at him, her eyes no longer sleepy. "Not at all… darling." Came her response. She turned to James, Remus and Peter and grinned in a definitely predatory way. "In fact, you don't suppose I could help?"_

_"Of course you may, darling," replied Sirius whilst looking at his friend's slowly retreating figures. "Now… if I may – Let's get 'em!"_

_The two bodies made a mad scramble at James, Peter and Remus, until the three had escaped back up the stairwell._

_"This changes nothing Padfoot!" came James' voice from above._

_"After all," came Remus' laughing tones. "We do still have the pictures!"_

_Sirius shook his head, and then looked down at Edana. Her pale cheeks were slightly flushed, her hair fell in loose tangles, and her blouse was slightly off shoulder. Sirius then found himself saying something he never thought he would say, or at least not for a long while. "Love you."_

_She wrapped her arms around him and whispered back "Love you too."_

=========

Sirius looked up from the stolen photo album and surreptitiously wiped his eyes.

He was surprised Remus still had the photo. It showed him looking up at the camera with an outraged expression, and an arm up, half-shielding 'Dana. Edana herself appeared to be looking up at the camera with an expression that bordered between amusement and annoyance.

Edana had died not long after that, and he had always been thankful that he had told her, even if had been only on a whim.

But Edana was alive now. She was alive, and so was he. Death must have taken him back a fair bit, but how far? When the heck was he?

To add to his confusion, Sirius could have sworn that Edana had died at a raid on the Potter's house. And he also could have sworn that that was what he had witnessed before. The suburbs, the streets, the weather even. They were engraved in his memories, and he had grown used to seeing them in his nightmares.

So why were they both alive? He ran through the events of that night slowly. They had been staying at the Potter family home. James and Lily had gone out for the night, and it had been just him, her and James' parents. They had been practicing Quidditch.

Well, a variation of Quidditch, where whenever she scored, she claimed a kiss. But it was still Quidditch.

They had heard yells and screams. After exchanging a look they had run into the house only to find Mr. And Mrs. Potter dead, with three Death Eaters standing over them. It had taken only a moment to absorb the scene and try and back away, before the Death Eaters noticed. But they hadn't been so lucky.

Edana had sacrificed herself for him. And he had run.

Wherever and whenever he was, things seemed to be going a little bit differently than before.

=========

Albus Dumbledore looked around his office. A bit messy, he supposed, but he knew where everything was when he wanted it.

He was pacing again, up and down, up and down, up and down. Pity it wasn't helping.

He sat down on his chair and steepled his fingers. Heaving a huge sigh he looked thoughtfully out the window, brow furrowed.

A soft trill drew his attention to Fawkes. "I don't know what it is," said the old man tiredly. "I felt something earlier. It was as though everything rippled around and time stood still."

Sighing again Dumbledore pushed himself out of his chair and walked over to his window. "The most obvious thing to suspect would be Voldemort. Perhaps he has a new weapon." Dumbledore paused. "And what a powerful weapon it would be."

"Excuse me, Professor Dumbledore, but what would be a powerful weapon?"

Dumbledore swiveled quickly on the balls of his feet only to see James and Lily.

Smiling, Dumbledore sat down and motioned for the two young ones to sit down in the chairs he conjured up. "Good to see you both, thank you for answering my summons so promptly."

The two exchanged a look that Dumbledore decided not to interpret. "You're welcome," smiled Lily. "But earlier what did you…"

"… mean when you said a powerful weapon?" finished James, and then smiled somewhat sheepishly at Lily. "Sorry, didn't mean to cut you off there Lily."

Dumbledore paused at the two young expectant faces before him. Then he spoke once more. "Earlier on today, I felt a disturbance in the air. It was slight, but it was definitely there."

James and Lily exchanged a puzzled look, before looking back apprehensively at Dumbledore.

When Dumbledore did not appear to be forthcoming with more information, Lily spoke. "What does that mean though, Professor?"

Dumbledore shot her a sharp look, but then chuckled. "I don't know! If only I did…all I can give you are suspicions, Lily. And as to what I suspect…"

Dumbledore's face looked tired and worn as he looked out the window. "I suspect Voldemort may have found a way to alter time. And as to what he could alter with that weapon… the possibilities, as they say, are endless."

=========

Lily Evans walked quietly along, with her brow furrowed in thought. _Altering time. What exactly could you do with that kind of weapon_, she thought.

A deep voice interrupted her thoughts. "Still thinking on what Dumbledore said?"

Lily turned to see her boyfriend standing before her. She nodded slightly and smiled when he offered her a vanilla ice cream cone.

"Thank you." She said with a laugh.

"Anytime darlin', anytime." James swung a casual arm around her shoulder and she nestled into him appreciatively. "So…"

Lily looked up at James with a curious look on her face. "So…?" she prompted.

James looked down at the ground and tugged slightly on his bottom lip. "Well… it's…difficult to say really."

Lily nodded slightly and fought back the laughter that threatened to engulf her. It wasn't funny! She told herself firmly.

"What is the general gist of what you want to say then. We can start from there."

James looked down at her and then looked back away. "Maybe you should eat your ice cream first."

"Oh… right." Lily took a delicate bite of her ice cream cone whilst James watched admiringly. He wasn't sure if he was crossing any boundaries of caring/obsessive boyfriend, but he loved to just watch her.

He loved watching her eat, sleep, talk. And he loved listening to her, and talking to her and…

"James?"

"Mm?"

"You right there?"

James felt a blush spread across his cheeks and cursed himself silently because of it. _Wouldn't Padfoot, Moony and Wormtail give me heaps if they could bear witness to this?_

"Yeah," he said non-commitally.

"That's great. By the way... Was your telling me to eat my ice cream a diversion?"

James looked slightly sheepish as he met Lily's eyes. "Um… kinda. Did it work?"

Lily raised her eyebrows in what she hoped was a 'not impressed' look. "It did. But why the need to…?"

James smiled wryly. "No reason, I just remember past incidents. Such as…"

"If you're talking about…"

"The time when you spilled coffee on my pants. And it was hot…"

"That was an accident, come on…"

"And then the time when you tipped pumpkin juice over my head."

"Well… that was on purpose. But we weren't going out then."

"Of course there's always the time that you kneed me in the groin."

"Ah. Well…that was… a bit…"

"Yes. Indeed it was." James grinned triumphantly down at Lily's crestfallen face. Leaning down to softly kiss the tip of her nose, he laughed. "I win."

Lily's tone was puzzled as she replied. "Win what?"

James laughed harder before leaning to kiss her deeply on the lips. "Well," he said when they parted, "not everything is a fair competition."

Lily briefly contemplated slapping him, but that would be a tad too much like before they had gone out. She looked into his hazel eyes and held his gaze. Then, giving up, she leaned in and kissed him instead.

=========

Edana opened sleepy eyes. She was exhausted, simply too tired too move. Then, realising that there was no comforting warmth beside her, she turned over. As she had thought, Sirius was absent from their bed.

Turning back to where she had been before she snuggled deeper into her warm spot and hauled the eiderdown up to her chin. It wasn't cold outside, but she felt cold.

The Potters. God, poor James. _It wasn't meant to be like this_, she raged silently in her mind. _It wasn't meant to_!

She and Siri had lived, and yet she still felt as though she had died. _You should have died_, whispered a traitorous part of her mind. Cutting herself off because she knew where the thought would lead, Edana tried to think of something – anything – else.

She heard soft footfalls approaching the room, and quickly closed her eyes and tried to regulate her breathing.

"'Dana?" came Sirius's soft tenor. She sensed him walk over to her and kneel beside the bed. "I'm glad you're safe. I don't know… I don't know what I would have done if you had died this morning."

Sirius let out a noise that was a half-sob and half-laugh. "Too close, even for a Marauder." He leaned in and kissed her softly on the temple.

"Sleep well Edana Tierne."

She heard him leave the room and flopped onto her back. Opening her eyes reluctantly she stared at the ceiling until tears blurred her eyes.

_Stop crying!_ A part of her raged at herself. But her body refused to obey her tearful commands.

=========

Sirius kept idly flicking through the photo album. It was so well organized, all the pictures neatly inserted, with captions detailing the event, the date and the year.

It was just so typical of Moony. In fact, thought Sirius as his eyes roamed the walls around him, this entire room was typically Moony. In one corner of the room was a moon chart, which Moony had bewitched so it moved like a normal photograph. In another corner was a single bed, and near the door was a simple wooden desk, on top of which seemed to be textbooks and essays – some finished, some only semi completed.

But the photo album was what had really captured his attention. There were pictures of the Marauders, pictures of him and Edana, pictures of James and Lily, and many of Remus and Tess.

A faint bang as the front door opened and closed alerted Sirius to the fact he was not alone. Quickly closing the album and shoving it haphazardly onto the bookcase. Sirius looked around quickly for an escape.

To Sirius's panic there was none – save the door of course, and that was blocked by whoever was approaching. As the footsteps got louder, Sirius's thoughts became less and less coherent.

_Don't hide…no! I can't face him, he might recognize me. And playing with time is dangerous. Transform into Padfoot…That won't work either if it's Moony. What if it isn't Moony? Who cares! I've got to hide? Where!? The cupboard. Hide in the cupboard. I won't fit. Well then transform, goddammit! Right, right…_

Sirius willed himself to calm down and thought of Padfoot. He quickly shrunk down to the form of the large dog. Except… Padfoot couldn't see _why_ he had to hide.

_It's Moony approaching, my _friend_. Sure, he smells a little different, but it's still him. Why can't we go and talk with him?_

_Because!_ Sirius argued with his canine alter ego. _You just can't at the moment. Hide! Closet! Now!_

_But do I ha-?_

_YES!_

_Alright, alright._ Padfoot trotted over to the closet and nosed it open. With a wuff of displeasure he closed the door and peered through the tiny crack in the wall.

Moony entered the room, and Padfoot resisted the urge to wag his tail and whine. Throwing his coat on the desk, Moony staggered over to his bed and collapsed spread-eagled on it. Although he couldn't quite tell from this distance and this angle, it appeared as though Remus was shaking.

Padfoot merely cocked his head to one side and continued to watch. Drawing a deep ragged breath Moony heaved himself upright, and buried his head in his hands. After what seemed like a lifetime he lifted his head up slowly and rubbed at his eyes.

Moony lifted his wand, glancing towards the cupboard and Padfoot tensed suddenly. Could he sense him?

"_Accio_ Album." Came Remus' soft weary voice.

Had Sirius not been Padfoot he would have cried. Already Moony was seeking solace in the album, just like he had earlier. Whatever had happened today could not have been good. Perhaps there had been an attack on the Potter mansion today. It was tempting to get out and comfort Remus, even if he did recognize him.

Before Sirius could do anything time seemed to stop and whirl around him at the same time, and then there was darkness. He had a vivid image of a woman with hair as black as his own, contrasting with flawless ivory skin, before he once again saw nothing.

When Sirius could see again, the room was empty.

Taking the opportunity Padfoot nosed the closet doors open and escaped down the stairs. _I'll come back_, he promised himself as he jumped through the open window and walked down the footpath.

As it happened, Sirius did not see a shaking man approach the house as he trotted down the pathway. The man paused slightly as he observed the jaunty wagging tail and then shook his head as he walked down the footpath and opened the front door, wincing as it closed with a bang.

=========

AN: As always, please let me know what you think so far.


	3. Tempting the Darkness

**Sirius' Choice**

**Chapter Three: Tempting the Darkness**

_Whimsical Firefly_

**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter and associated characters are property and invention of J.K. Rowling  
  
=========

_Sirius flipped over onto his back on the roomy king-sized bed.  
  
The ceiling looked quite nice actually. Pure white (save for the areas where he and James had set off Doctor Filibusters fireworks and scorched the ceiling slightly). Truth be told, it wasn't the ceiling or the bed, or the colours or the room itself that made James's place his favourite place.  
  
It was the attitude. There was a kind of openness and freedom that was everywhere in the house that had nothing to do with the number of windows and bright lights – although they helped. It was the attitude that James and his parents held that made it so special.  
  
Even despite the attacks of recent times, it was safe here. Nothing bad could ever happen.  
  
James coughed slightly to acquire his friends attention. "If I may, Mr. Padfoot?" he said with a grin, gesturing down at the tray laden with goodies.  
  
Sirius's eyes bulged as he saw all of his favourite foods, and then some he hadn't even tried... yet! "I think you most certainly may Mr. Prongs..."  
  
James laughed and collapsed cross-legged on the floor. "Oh? You mean I may eat all of these by myself? You know I don't mind if I doooo-"  
  
James's comment was cut off as Sirius launched himself from the bed and tackled James. "Never!!" cried Sirius in mock desperation."You shall never have them all!!"  
  
James and Sirius suddenly made eye-contact and burst out laughing.  
  
Sirius released his death grip around James's neck and sat up straight. "Well, I suppose you can have some... but for the most part it's MINE!"  
  
Laughing, the two friends proceeded to demolish their unhealthy (although extremely satisfying) meal.  
_  
=========

James walked Lily back towards the mansion, his thoughts centred on his botched attempt of asking Lily to... well.  
  
Swallowing a sigh James looked down at Lily and then looked back up before she could spot him. He was supposed to be a Gryffindor! He was supposed to be brave.  
  
And admittedly he was, in certain situations. But then there were other situations – such as this one, where he wasn't brave, and could only wish like hell that he was.  
  
This time he didn't bother to swallow his sigh. Lily looked up immediately. "Are you alright James?"  
  
James nodded, eyes on the ground. Then he forced himself to look at her and gave a ghost of a smile. "Just tired I guess. I can't wait to get home."  
  
Lily smiled and slipped her hand into his. "Would you be too tired to play Quidditch when we get back?"  
  
"Depends on which version we're playing really – Sirius and Edana's version or the other one." Replied James, a slight chuckle in his voice.  
  
Lily pursed her lips in mock consideration. "Both are good games, really."  
  
James nodded eagerly. "Very good games in fact."  
  
Lily laughed at the earnest tone in his voice. "I'll tell you what – race you back. If I win, then it's straight Quidditch, if you win..."  
  
"On your marks, get set – GO!" James raced off into the distance, his long legs quickly taking him beyond her sight.  
  
Lily then began to jog complacently back to the mansion. Around her little finger he was, wrapped around her little finger.  
  
=========

Peter curled up on the couch in front of the open window. There were six more days until term began again, and he intended to enjoy every one of them, by doing what he did best – nothing.  
  
The last term you will ever be at Hogwarts, whispered a part of his brain. Peter stretched out along the sofa, and turned so his face was in the pillow he had brought from his bedroom.  
  
The very last term. With N.E.W.T's as well. He came back to the question he had been attempting to avoid all holiday – not bloody likely with all the books entitled "your future" stacked upon his desk, kindly provided by his mother. What was he going to be once he left school?  
  
His possible careers of what he wanted to do consisted of a short list of one – an Auror. In his mind there was no worthier occupation. But he couldn't do it.  
  
Exasperated with his train of thought, Peter flipped onto his back and stared at the ceiling. The voices of professors throughout his years echoed through his ears.  
  
_"A nice boy..."  
  
"Doesn't apply himself"  
  
"Hopeless"  
  
"Average in ability"  
  
"Slightly slow"  
_  
And what his friends said when they thought he wasn't listening. Or even when they knew he was  
  
_"Where's tag along?"  
  
"Pudgy bastard. He's such a clinger..."  
  
"He doesn't get involved. He just stands around and... looks excited."  
  
"He's part girl the way he laughs."  
  
"And if he gets too involved he always looks like he's about to wet himself!"  
  
_And yet they were his best friends. Peter snorted slightly. Said a lot about his social life really. His only friends disliked him.  
  
He tried his best to fit in, but he wasn't as talented at Quidditch, nor was he all that good looking. He'd been blessed with fairly non-descript looks that faded to oblivion next to James and Sirius, and even Remus to a lesser extent. He wasn't as smart as the others – good grades didn't come effortlessly to him as they did to others. To achieve a mark that James, Sirius or Remus might acquire on a bad day, he had to study like a maniac.  
  
And if he studied like a maniac, he would never have any fun.  
  
It was a lose-lose situation. And what with the... well you-know, it wasn't like the numbers of people attending Hogwarts was growing: they were declining instead.  
  
You-know-who was everywhere. Was there any escape?  
  
=========

Voldemort looked out the window, and smiled grimly at all those who scurried down below.  
  
They were ants. Insects, bugs, spiders, just waiting to be crushed. And they would be crushed by none other than him.  
  
He turned from the window and looked around the room with distaste. He and a few loyal Deatheaters were currently in a muggle hotel room. Do-able enough... at a push. And it was the last place that idiot would think to look for him.  
  
He was playing a game of cat and mouse with Dumbledore. Much to his satisfaction, he was winning. At the moment in fact, the score was so greatly in his favour, it would now be impossible for him to catch up.  
  
He had as good as won. Voldemort laughed mirthlessly. Well, nearly.  
  
The war would never be won so long as there were still muggles, and mudbloods, and mudblood loving purebloods.  
  
But really and truthfully – where should he stop? Half-bloods, knowing he was a hallf-blood himself? Quarter bloods? Three-quarter bloods?  
  
There was no clear answer. But that was not his immediate concern.  
  
A new thought had begun to plague him. One of his Death Eaters had mentioned it to him. Not for long of course, because his suggestions had been proptly cut off with the cruciatius curse. However, after the screams had faded, the implications of what the Death-Eater said had begun to haunt him.  
  
Damn it. He should have used the Avada Kedavra and gotten it over with. Oh well. Never too late...  
  
_"The wizarding world has never lived in full darkness for long. Soon, people will contest your rights my lor-ahhhhhhhhhh!"  
_  
And damn him - he might be right. Even now he knew Dumbledore and the others plotted against him. Although he was confident of his victory, worry still nagged him.  
  
There had to be some way to ensure that it all went well. His thoughts more recently had been returning unerringly to the possibility of immortality.  
  
If he was immortal, then perhaps the darkness would never end. Maybe his hold could be loosened occasionally, but he would always come back – stronger, deadlier, and much more powerful.  
  
Voldemort laughed mirthlessly. The only question now was how.  
  
'_The Old magick'_ whispered the voice inside his head.  
  
Voldemort considered the advice. The voice had never lead him astray before.  
  
Before he could fully begin to understand all the ramifications, an external voice interrupted.  
  
"My lord?" The voice was velvet smooth, and equally soft. Voldemort knew instantly who had disturbed him.  
  
"Come in..." through the corner of the eye he could see his servant nod slightly and enter the disgustingly bright hotel room. The servant stood, and did not unveil itself, as was it's wont.  
  
"Was there something troubling you?"  
  
The servant nodded again slightly.  
  
"And why should it be my concern?"  
  
"Because... well...The attack on the Potters. It shouldn't have..."  
  
The voice trailed off as Voldemort turned slightly to face the servant. "Do you love me?"  
  
The servant looked up from the floor as if in shock. "Of course, master. You know I could never..."  
  
"Fool." Hissed Voldemort, advancing on the servant, causing a small quiver to pass through it.  
  
Voldemort stopped slightly short of the servant, and then spoke again. "But so long as you love me." He lifted his hand and surveyed it distantly. Pale, smooth... slightly bony if one wished to be overtly critical.  
  
Then he reached over and removed the servants veil. Running a delicate hand over his servants face he marvelled at the pale, unblemished perfection. Then with a mocking laugh he performed the Cruciatus curse and watched the servant writhe on the ground.  
  
As the servant writhed upon the ground before him, Voldemort found that their perfection was so greatly enhanced. Beauty is after all, in the eye of the beholder  
  
=========

Padfoot pricked his ears as he heard a noise in the background.  
  
It sounded like laughter. Familiar laughter...  
  
Sirius thought for a moment. Could it be?  
  
Padfoot quickly ran in the direction of that he thought the noise had come in.  
  
It wasn't far, maybe a few metres, but it seem to take an age for Padfoot to reach the source of the noise.  
  
Peeking out through the underbrush he saw Lily run past laughing. Even in his canine form he thought Lily was beautiful. She looked so alive and happy as she ran, her hair whipping around in the wind.  
  
He watched as Lily ran closer to him, and then suddenly kneeled sown and swore.  
  
Sirius was amused to hear Lily swear as dabbed at her ankle. He didn't think little Lilyflower knew how to swear.  
  
She finally tied a hankie around her ankle and stood up straight. Relieved, he watched as Lily looked around and then started running again, favouring her ankle slightly. After a moments deliberation, Padfoot followed stealthily behind.  
  
=========

Lily ran out of the forest, handkerchief tight around her ankle.... And then slowed. James was standing just outside, stock still.  
  
If she's been running faster then she would have crashed into him. As it was, she merely stopped behind his shoulder and then walked around.  
  
It was no need to ask what had him poleaxed. In the direction of James' house was a skull with a snake coming out of it's mouth. The Dark Mark... The mark of Voldemort. Capable of turning any wizard or witches heart to ice.  
  
She slipped an arm inside James' and looked up at him. "James... it might not be your house. It could still be alright."  
  
James was shaking his head before she even finished speaking. His eyes stayed fixed ahead on the Dark mark. "No." his voice was wooden, without emotion. "No, that's...that's my house."  
  
"You don't know that!" Lily cried, frustrated with James refusal to meet her eyes and his seeming lack of emotion.  
  
"I do!" James stepped away from her and turned to face her. His voice was angry but his red-rimmed eyes told a different story. "Trust me on this Lily! My father TAUGHT me how to spot my house from this spot. That's it!"  
  
Looking down an then turning straight ahead again. He crossed his arms as though he had a chill.  
  
Lily nodded slowly, not fully comprehending. "But...well... Merlin. Should we go there and see if anyone survived?"  
  
As soon as the words left her mouth, she realised it was a foolish question. No-one had ever survived a raid. After all, there had only been James' mother and father...  
  
Lily's eyes widened in shock. Sirius and Edana! They'd been there too!  
  
Anxiously tugging on his sleeve, Lily looked up at him determinedly. When he didn't look down she spoke instead. "James! Sirius and Edana! They were there too!"  
  
James looked down distantly, and nodded. "In that case, the best that we can hope for is that they're dead." Then seeming to snap out of his indecision he bridged the gap between them and wrapped his arms around her.  
  
"Come on.. we've got to get out of here in case there are Death Eaters still lurking."  
  
Lily nodded and tried to withhold her sobs as they apparated in unison to Diagon Alley.  
  
=========

Padfoot hid in the bushes listening to James' soft voice and Lily's tearful one. Just as he was about to leap out of the bush and grab them both away from any remaining danger, the two apparated out of the field – presumably to somewhere safer.  
  
Transforming back to human form, Sirius shook his head at the sky above him. "Dammit! How am I supposed to change anything when I can't even get close to any of my friends?"  
  
There was no answer. Sirius hadn't really expected one. Spitting out the corner of his mouth, Sirius stalked back into the forest. He didn't know where he was going exactly, but he wanted to go somewhere where he might be of use.

=========

**Authors Note: **_Sorry that this chapter took longer than it was supposed to to come out, it had to be rewritten and such. It was fairly dodgy._

_Anyways... Thankyou's! Thankyou to all who reviewed, you're all bloody legends! ::kneels down in front of reviewers and starts bowing::_

_Thanks as always goes to James Milamber, my wonderful beta - and the only one who's honest enough to tell me when I'm doing a crap job. Thanks mate! (I'm not being sarcastic or anything - really, thankyou!)_

_Finally, please let me know what you think about this chapter, because I'm really unsure about it. Thanks! The fourth chapter shall not be long in coming..._


	4. Aftershocks

**Sirius' Choice**

**Chapter Four: The Journey 'Home'**

_Whimsical Firefly_

**Authors Note:** This chapter is something is something of a once-off. It has the past Sirius' time compared with present Sirius' time. So, just to make it easier – the italics are what happened the 'first time around', and the normal font is what Sirius is re-living through. I hope that makes sense and that you enjoy this chapter.

And this chapter is dedicated to James Milamber for being the ::bestest:: beta ever, and to my lovely reviewers.

**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter and all related characters are property of J.K Rowling.

========

_Sirius swiveled around when he heard his name called. Through the packed streets of Diagon Alley he could just see a head of untidy black hair and a flash of auburn in the sunlight. Heart hammering into his ribcage he lifted his arms up and waved._

_"Sirius!" James' voice called across the packed streets. Sirius tried to push through to them, but couldn't get anywhere. In the end, Sirius indicated across to the ice-cream parlour and sat down at one of the covered tables._

_He watched as James' and Lily struggled across the crowded main street. Truth be told, thought Sirius as he inhaled, it was like watching two fish trying to swim across a current. With less success, he amended as he watched them get pushed back to the side again._

_The streets of Diagon Alley had never been this crowded before, and knowing the reason why, Sirius hoped it would never be this crowded again. The reason why was a string of attacks on pure-blood families who weren't supporters of Voldemort. The list was long including the Potters, the Loydells, the Bones, and the MacKenzies._

_It was a definite wake-up call to those in the Ministry who had agreed with Voldemort's policy against muggle-borns and turned a blind eye towards it. After all, they had told themselves – it was all for the good of the wizarding race. An attack on pure-bloods however…_

_Sirius twisted his mouth into a grim line. Conspicuously absent from the parade of vengeful wizards were the Blacks, the Malfoys, the Lestranges and the Snapes. _

_Funny really how in any other family he'd be the good son. The son who stood up for his beliefs, and his friends, was on Dumbledore's good side, and did his best to get along with everyone. Funny how it was those very qualities that made him a disgrace in his own family._

_He looked up to see James and Lily finally edging out across the street and running towards him. Sirius stood up, only to be practically bowled over as James and Lily grabbed him in a fierce hug. _

_James was the first to let go, but Sirius noticed that he still kept a hand on his shoulder. "Sirius…mate. We thought that you'd…" James swallowed and met Sirius' eyes, and Sirius could see that they were overly bright._

_Sirius nodded in understanding. "I know. I'm sorry…I just…I was too late." James closed his eyes and looked down._

_"Yeah. I know you would have tried to help." James and Sirius clasped forearms and grinned weakly. "So long as I still have my 'brother'"._

_Lily released Sirius and wiped her eyes. "So long as we're all safe, that's what matters."_

_James and Lily both saw Sirius' face drop as the words left her mouth, and gasped. "Edana?"_

_Sirius took a deep breath as though to compose himself. "She's…"_

========

Sirius took a deep breath as though to compose himself. "She's…"

"Right here!" interrupted Edana. " I left Sirius here so I could just grab some more quills for next term. It _does_ start tomorrow, despite…everything."

Lily grabbed Edana in a strong hug. "You're safe too! Thank Merlin! James and I were both so afraid when we saw the Dark Mark that you and Sirius had…" Lily trailed off and looked up at James, whose eyes were back to being overly bright.

Edana and Sirius exchanged a glance, and it was Edana who stepped forward and brought James into a hug. "We know James. We're just sorry that we couldn't have helped your parents somehow."

James just nodded, and swallowed rather desperately. "Yeah… like I said to Sirius – I know if you could have, you would have." He smiled shakily. "If that makes sense."

Lily slipped her hand into his and smiled up at him. "Of course it does."

Sirius wrapped his arms around Edana's waist and looked at James and Lily. "So. What do you say to attending the March? I reckon that at least one Black ought to be in attendance."

James nodded and his face took on a closed look. "As should the remaining Potter."

The four young friends turned and mingled into the crowd that was marching purposefully towards the Ministry of Magic.

========

_Sirius looked up at the ceiling and fidgeted in his bed. The room was really irking him. The bed was lumpy and uncomfortable, the pillows were like blocks of cement and the room had a strangely cloying musty smell about it._

_Stupid motel. Thought Sirius bitterly, and then turned over to see the other bed._

_"Of course," he said aloud, "Ickle Prongsie is just perfectly asleep."_

_"I'm not, actually," came James' muffled voice from across the room. "But I was giving it a bloody good try before."_

_Sirius grinned slightly into the darkness. "Talk to me."_

_Sirius could practically see James answering grin and heard him turn over in his no doubt lumpy bed._

_"Fine. I will," said James, whose voice was no longer muffled._

_"Comfy?"_

_"Of course. I haven't been this comfy since I tried to go to sleep in Honeyduke's cellar."_

_Sirius laughed slightly into the darkness. "How was your date this morning, eh Prongsie?"_

_James attempted to give his friend a death glare, but realising that he couldn't see, gave up. "It wasn't a date, Padfoot. Grow up."_

_"Never! I'll be like that little flying munchkin in Muggle stories who never grows old!"_

_"Oh… him! Um… Peaky Fan?"_

_Sirius frowned at the ceiling. "I don't know. Ask Lily later, I guess. And if it wasn't a date with Lilyflower, then what was it? A mad snogging session?" he paused, then said, "or did you finally jump her bones…?"_

_A pillow came flying out of nowhere and thwacked him on the head. Considering his friend couldn't see him, James had very good aim._

_"Get your mind _out_ of the gutter, Padfoot," growled James. "We went to see Dumbledore. He's worried."_

_Sirius grimaced slightly. "That's not good. Dumbledore's never worried."_

_"Mmm…" came James' murmured assent from the other side of the room._

_"Well, what is it?"_

_"Eh?"_

_Sirius sighed. "What's he worried about James?"_

_"A weapon."_

_Sirius nodded in the darkness. He could ask what kind of weapon it was, but there was only a very slim chance that James would tell him what it was. Better to just go back to his favourite means of harassing James._

_"And after that?"_

_James groaned. "Damn it Padfoot!"_

_"AHA!" Sirius said triumphantly. "So there was an after that! Did you or didn't you?"_

_James mumbled something across the room softly._

_Sirius sat up in bed. "What?"_

_James mumbled again, softer than before._

_"Just say it so I can hear you, Prongs," growled Sirius._

_"I was going to ask Lily to marry me, okay?"_

_Sirius promptly fell off the bed. "What?"_

_"You heard," grumbled James before turning around so his back was towards Sirius._

_Sirius inhaled sharply, ignoring the fact that the air even tasted damp. "Mate, you got it bad. Need I remind you we're still in school?"_

_James didn't turn around._

_"Why do you want to marry her?"_

_James rolled over onto his back and sighed. "Why wouldn't I? And I know we're in school, and I know that it would probably seemed rushed to her, which is why in the end I didn't ask her."_

_Sirius stayed silent._

_"But the thing is… it's not rushed for me. Think about it Padfoot, I have loved her for… the longest time. It just seems right."_

_Sirius made a non-commital noise in the back of his throat, and then laughed. _

_James grinned. "Hey! You saying you wouldn't want to spend the rest of your life with Edana?"_

_James heard the words leave his mouth before he could stop them. Sirius climbed back onto his concrete slab of a bed, and turned so his back was towards James' bed. _

_"Think I'll try and sleep now. See you in the morning mate," said Sirius softly._

_James swallowed. How stupid could he be? She had only died a few days ago, in front of Sirius' eyes. _

_"Yeah mate. Sleep well."_

========

James grinned. "Hey! You saying you wouldn't want to spend the rest of your life with Edana?"

James heard the words leave his mouth before he could stop them. Sirius clambered up off the floor and onto his concrete slab of a bed, and turned so that his back was facing James.

"Think I'll try and sleep now. See you in the morning mate."

James paused and then grinned. "Am I right in thinking that I've struck a nerve here?"

"Sod off Prongs."

"Yes, yes I have," grinned James, putting his arms behind his head in an indolent fashion. "So what's the problem?"

Sirius turned and in the early morning light James could have sworn he saw Padfoot's mouth tweak slightly.

"Remember," continued James, as though he hadn't seen Sirius turn. "I am always here to be your agony auntie, darling."

Sirius laughed and hurled James' pillow back at him, hitting James in the stomach.

"Tsk tsk. My shot was better and I couldn't even see you. Shame, Padfoot… shame."

Sirius laughed. "Shut up Prongs."

"Seriously though. What's with Edana and you?"

Sirius looked at James and sighed. He supposed if he had been badgering James for details, he should at least return the favour.

"It's just… during the attack. I was so scared. One of the Death Eaters tried to put the Cruciatus curse on her. She dodged it and then we ran out of there, with them hot on our tails. For some reason, they didn't follow past the gate."

James closed his eyes and imagined what he'd do if someone did that to Lily. Kill them, he decided.

"But I was so angry. With her for putting herself in danger. With me for letting herself put herself in danger. With them for being the danger."

James laughed slightly.

"And I've just been thinking since then I guess. Life's short nowadays. We'll leave school soon. What are you going to do?"

James sat up and tried to look at his friend, but he couldn't see him clearly. "What do you mean?" asked James cautiously.

"Voldemort, the March, the attacks. Think about it James – its going to get worse before it gets better. He's gathered too much momentum, too many followers to just be stopped by the Ministry of Magic tapping him on the wrist and saying he's a bad boy."

James laughed softly at the visual image presented.

"What are we going to do when we leave school? Will we fight him, or will we hide in the shadows and pray that Dumbledore defeats him, or that he gets knocked down by a rampaging hippogriff? Because I don't know about you, James. But I am going to fight."

James nodded. "I'm fighting too. The scumbag killed my parents, remember?"

Sirius raised his eyebrows but refrained from making the comment of 'how could I forget?' The image of James parents lying there with glazed eyes was going to haunt him for a lifetime and then some. "The thing is… resisting Voldemort can substantially reduce your lifespan by a few decades."

James snorted. "This is all very fine sentiment Padfoot. But what does it have to do with Edana?"

"It has everything to do with Edana. Life's too short to not spend it with those you love. So ask Lily, James. Sorry if I wasn't supportive earlier, but go for it. She loves you, you love her – why not? And maybe if I manage to find my courage, I might just ask Edana as well."

"I see."

Sirius rolled over so his back was facing James. "I'm going to try and get some sleep mate, before I rock up at Kings' Cross tomorrow."

James swallowed, still touched by the sentiment that Sirius had expressed earlier.

"Yeah mate. Sleep well."

========

_Sirius and James walked up the train._

_Sirius looked over at James. "Are you sure Moony is saving us a carriage?"_

_James smiled confidently. "I'm positive. He always does – him and Peter."_

_At the sound of Peter's names Sirius wrinkled his nose slightly but said nothing. If there was one thing he wasn't in the mood for now, it was Peter Pettigrew._

_James continued talking, not being able to see Sirius' face. "The thing that puzzles me though, is where's Lily?"_

_Sirius laughed slightly. "Lost your girlfriend mate? Or maybe she ran away."_

_James turned around long enough to give Sirius a darkling look and then resumed his searching the train for Lily and/or Remus and Peter._

_Sirius grinned slightly. It wasn't often that James let something like that past him. He must be really worried, decided Sirius. Sighing Sirius went back to looking through the glass windows of the compartments. With a sudden thought of inspiration, Sirius started whistling 'Blue Moon' loudly. _

_An answering whistle came from a compartment a few metres down._

_"There you go Prongs! There they are." Grinned Sirius._

_James laughed and strode over to the compartment with Sirius. They opened the door and were met with complete silence._

_The silence wasn't noticeable at first, but after James and Sirius had stored their trunks and turned around to face Remus and Peter, it became very apparent._

_A very pale Remus was the first to regain his composure. "You're both alive?" he asked with a grin. The other boys pretended not to see the moisture gathering at Remus' eyes._

_Instead, Sirius made a great show of inspecting himself and James. After a few moments of this, Sirius remarked "We seem to be. What do you think James?"_

_James then inspected himself and Sirius, much as Sirius had done earlier. "Yes, all seems to be in order."_

_Peter began his high-pitched giggle that drove Sirius crazy. Thankfully, Remus shot him a quelling look and he stopped. Remus then spoke softly._

_"When I heard that your house had been attacked James… all Tess and I could think of was that you, Lily, Edana and Sirius were there. We tried contacting you, but nothing came back. We thought you'd…"_

_Remus broke off his sentence and then continued down a determinedly cheerful road. "But you're all okay, right?"_

_James slumped down onto the red plush seats and shrugged. "More or less."_

_Sirius sat down on the floor, and pulled his knees up to his chin. Remus looked at him, and took in his abject pose. "Is Edana…?"_

========

Sirius sat down on the floor, and pulled his knees up to his chin. Remus looked at him and took in his abject pose. "Is Edana…?"

Edana opened the compartment door. "Sirius? There you are!" She wrapped her arms around him and Sirius in turn nuzzled her shoulder.

Remus exhaled the breath that he had been holding, and relaxed. Even though Edana had only been a part of the group for a small amount of time, she had become an intrinsic part. He hated to think what they'd do without her.

James looked down at Edana and asked if she knew where Lily was.

Edana looked up at him and grinned. "Well she was at a meeting for the heads and prefects but…"

She didn't get to finish her sentence as Remus and James exchanged panicked glances and ran out of the compartment.

Sirius however, looked down at her. "But what?"

Laughing, Edana finished her sentence. "But it just finished."

Sirius laughed too. "Silly buggers. You're a prefect too – you'd think they would have clicked that you were here with us."

Edana shrugged and laughed again. "But I'm not a prefect anymore!"

Sirius gaped at his girlfriend and then began to chuckle as well, whilst Peter stared out the window, feeling very much excluded from their intimate world.

========

_James and Remus ran up the corridor, James swearing silently under his breath._

_"I can't believe I bloody well forgot!"_

_Remus stifled a chuckle, and let James continue with his self-recriminations. _

_"What kind of git forgets a meeting on the first day back of a new term?"_

_"Ahem!" interrupted Remus. "I forgot too, remember?"_

_James flashed a guilty look back to his friend. "Sorry Moony," muttered James. "But you know what I meant."_

_Remus nodded and they kept running towards the front of the train. He did know what James meant. He also didn't think it was entirely James' fault for forgetting, given all that had transpired during the last few days. However, wisely Remus held his tongue, not wishing to upset James._

_Instead Remus stared out the window as the train rolled past. Grass, forest, ocean, town, cliffs…_

_He had been so busy staring at the view that when James stopped in front of him, he was completely unprepared. He crashed into James, who crashed into someone, who crashed into someone else. A nice little domino effect really, he decided._

_"Nice going, guys." Came a slightly accented voice underneath everyone. "I'm probably paralysed."_

_"All except your mouth obviously," joked James as he shoved himself up off their two victims. Once he and Remus were clear, Remus could see that the two girls they had crashed into were none other than Lily and… Tess._

_Remus' heart suddenly decided that his throat was a far more appropriate place to live than his chest. "Are you two… okay?" he managed to ask._

_Tess looked at him with direct violet eyes, and then smiled slightly. "Absolutely spiffing, wouldn't you say Lily?"_

_Amused emerald eyes turned towards him and James. "Absolutely. We just came back from a meeting that had one head girl…no head boy…and a distinctly uneven amount of prefects."_

_James started apologizing madly, and in the end Lily cut him off with a kiss. Remus however was still caught up in the slight nuances of her speech._

_"We?"_

_Lily released James and nodded slowly. "Yes. Tess is the new Seventh year Gryffindor prefect because Edana…" Lily swallowed and then finished the sentence. "…died."_

_Remus ignored the slight watering up of his eyes. Edana had been one of the nicest girls that he had ever met. She was so trusting and innocent, and yet so dangerous and wise at the same time. _

_The four walked back towards their compartment. It was only upon reaching the door and holding it open for his friends that Remus realized the full ramifications of Tess' promotion._

_Prefect baths…his breath hitched and his eyes glazed over slightly, much to the amusement of Sirius and James._

========

James started apologizing madly, and in the end Lily cut him off with a kiss. Remus, however was still caught up in the nuances of her speech.

"We?"

Lily released James and nodded slowly. "Yes. Tess is the new seventh year Gryffindor prefect because Edana…" Lily quirked an amused eyebrow before finishing the sentence. "…resigned."

Remus coughed slightly in shock, but didn't take the bait. He'd ask Edana about it later.

"Congratulations then, Tess." Smiled Remus, his heart hammering madly and attempting to leave his throat.

Tess merely blushed and smiled. "Thanks."

The four then walked back to their compartment. It was only upon reaching the door and holding it open for his friends, that Remus realized the full ramifications of Tess' promotion.

Prefect baths…his breath hitched and his eyes glazed over, much to the amusement of Sirius and James.

========

_Sirius, James, Peter and Remus hauled their trunks off the train and towards the horseless carriages. Except…_

_Sirius stopped and stared at the carriages as his mates shoved their trunks on board. They weren't horseless anymore._

_Well, they didn't have horses. But they did have some… creature pulling it._

_"Guys?" called out Sirius. The three boys turned around. "The carriages have gotten something to pull them now. Crazy, huh?"_

_Remus, James, and Peter slowly turned around and looked at the carriage, and then turned slowly and looked back at him. Finally Remus spoke. "No… they're still horseless Padfoot."_

_Sirius pulled a face and walked closer. Shoving his trunk haphazardly into the carriage, he turned and took a closer look at the things. _

_"They're real!" he insisted._

_James waved a careless hand. "Whatever. Now, are you getting in or not?"_

_Sirius frowned but stepped into the carriage with his friends._

=========

Sirius frowned and stepped into the carriage with his friends, only to be stopped by a slight hand tucking itself into the crook of his arm. He looked down slightly to see Edana smile at him.

Sirius grinned and then pulled her into the carriage.

"Oi! Padfoot – there's only meant to be four to a carriage," laughed James.

Edana smiled sweetly at him. "It's all right. I can sit on Siri's lap, can't I darling?"

Sirius sat down and pulled Edana on top of him. "Any time and everytime."

========

_Sirius searched the Great Hall for her, for any sign of her. She's not here! His brain told him firmly, but Sirius ignored it and continued searching._

_If Edana was anywhere, she would be here waiting for him._

_He jumped slightly when he felt a hand come to rest on his shoulder. He whirled around to see… no-one._

_Then he looked down and saw Lily. "She's not here, Sirius. I'm sorry."_

_Sirius swallowed. "You don't need to apologize Lily. It's not like you did anything."_

_Lily nodded and looked up at him, concern in her almond shaped eyes. Then she turned and walked back to where the rest of the gang were hanging out._

_Sirius surveyed the hall one last time before turning around to return to his friends._

========

Sirius surveyed the hall one last time before turning around to return to his friends.

When he turned, a grin spread over his face. He grabbed Edana and wrapped his arms around her.

"'Dana!" he murmured into her ear. "Where did you go? I couldn't find you for ages."

Edana didn't meet his eyes as she replied, telling him she had been waylaid.

Sirius nodded and then wrapping a protective arm around her shoulders, guided her towards their friends.

He didn't look down to see her eyes well up with tears, and she brushed them away quickly.

========

_Sirius slid into his seat beside Remus and smiled before turning his attention to Dumbledore at the head of the podium._

_Dumbledore surveyed the mass of students before him. A sea of students regarded him back solemnly. _

_When he spoke his voice was soft, but all could hear every single word he said. _

_"I am grieved as I look at the faces before me. Your holidays were not the relaxing, enjoyable times we had hoped for you."_

_His eyes roamed the entire hall, somehow making eye contact with every single person._

_"Lord Voldemort's attacks have injured and killed many, and as I look before me I see students have been orphaned by Lord Voldemort's treachery, and students whose absence is conspicuous in the light of these attacks."_

_Sirius glanced involuntarily at where Edana usually sat beside him._

========

Sirius glanced involuntarily at where Edana usually sat beside him.

Feeling his eyes upon her, she turned and smiled faintly before turning back to the front.

"And so," continued Dumbledore, "I would like to propose a moments silence for those who were lost to us, whether they be friend, enemy or relative."

A collective silence gathered over the hall and Sirius shivered.

=========

_A collective silence gathered over the hall and Sirius shivered, although not from cold. How many more people would these attacks effects?_

_Someone once said that everything you did had an effect, an aftershock. Similar to when a pebble was dropped in water, the ripples would spread as a result of that one action._

_Except this wasn't a pebble. This was a bloody boulder._

_The students looked up as Dumbledore thanked everyone for their co-operation._

_"I wish I could promise that that silence would solve everything, or that we would never need to have another silence like that. But I can't. I can only promise you that you will be safe here, for as long as your spirit remains true to the school."_

_Dumbledore's eyes rested on the seventh years in particular._

_"Now please, tuck into this excellent feast."_

_Sirius smiled slightly. Looked like he was back home again._

========

"Now please, tuck into this excellent feast."

Sirius smiled slightly and reached across for Edana's hand. She looked up and met his eyes, but there seemed to be a wall between them, that had never been there before.

Despite this Sirius smiled and squeezed her hand. "Glad to be back?"

Edana nodded and looked away. "Yeah. Back home again."

==========

**Author's Note:** Thankyou so much for the kind reviews! Wow! Just because of that, this chapter got posted only two days after the last chapter!

Well, it's actually because it was written and James gave it back to me. But the reviews helped too!

And because they were so lovely, I have to reply…

**_Lady of the Dragons2:_** I'm making it so that Sirius is the same age as he was when we read about him in Harry Potter. That way it's not like there's two Sirius' running around. Sirius looks enough like his younger self to make it dangerous to meet any of his friends, but not enough to freak them out. Hopefully, anyway…

**_Renatinha Black:_** Thanks for saying that I've got the characters right! ;) I keep trying to read your story, but the links on the alerts keep saying that the chapters don't exist (ff,net doesn't like me much). It does work when I go through your profile though, so I should be able to review soon (when I've read them). Looking forward to it!

**_Sweet 16 Movie Buff:_** Wah-hey! I loved your review…Once again, I'm really glad that you liked the characterisation, and Sirius' memories. The memories become more and more important as the story goes on, so I'm glad you like them! Hurry up with your sequel so I can read it!

**_Heart Of The Phoenix:_** I never thought about it being balanced and stuff, but it's good that you thought it was. ;) Hope this was quick enough!

And so until next time, please review! This chapter was a bit different, so I'm curious as to what people made of it. Thankyou once more.


	5. The Light of Truth

**Sirius' Choice**

**Chapter Five: **

_Whimsical Firefly_

**Author's Note:** This is the revised and betaed version of chapter five, delivered to you at James Milamber's insistence.

**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter and all related and identifiable characters belong to J.K. Rowlings.

* * *

_Remus walked slowly out through the iron-wrought gates of Hogwarts and into Hogsmeade. "Smell that fresh air, my friend!" enthused James. "We're free!"_

_Remus__ turned slightly towards his grinning friend and smiled tolerantly. "Yeah, I can tell you need a break desperately. We've been back for what? A week?"_

_James laughed, and attempted to look serious. "Well, you know how it is. All that study and homework and classes…"_

_"You know, I might feel sorry for you had I actually seen you open a book this past week," laughed Remus._

_James rolled his eyes and muttered something about spoilsports, but Remus ignored him. His gaze had been held by a large black dog slinking towards the castle._

_"Hey, isn't that…?" Remus was cut off by a large bang behind him, followed by several panicked screams. Fearing the worst, Remus swivelled around quickly, wand at the ready. However, instead of the hoard of Death Eaters he had been expecting, all Remus saw was smoke, followed by the sound of an indignant female voice. _

_"Sirius Black! I'm going to wish you were dead, you ignoble git!"_

_Grinning, Remus watched as his tall, dark-haired friend emerged from the mist. Followed by several irate Ravenclaw girls, ranging in age from about 3rd year to 7th._

_James let out a low whistle under his breath. "I gotta hand it to Padfoot. He certainly has a way with the ladies."_

_Remus__ laughed with his friends, but he couldn't help himself turning around and looking back at where he had seen the dog. He could have sworn that it was Padfoot. Shrugging, Remus dismissed it absently as a figment of his imagination and went to help Sirius, who was currently buried under a bevy of females._

_Part of him wished that Sirius would cool it with all the pranks that he'd pulled so far this term, another part of him knew that this was Sirius' way of distracting himself from Edana's death._

_"Moony!" gasped Sirius, flinging a desperate arm up from the bottom of the pile. "James…Help!"_

_Grinning, Remus and James started to unload their friend_.

* * *

Opening his weary blue eyes, Albus Dumbledore surveyed the ceiling of his office. It was high and lofty, yet it still imprisoned him.

With a sigh, he pushed himself up and walked towards the window. Clear blue eyes surveyed the grounds with none of their usual twinkle. There was darkness everywhere he looked now. In the forest, in the village, in those around him.

He had to maintain his hope somehow, but at times it seemed impossible. He was everyone else's listening post, and he was capable of giving them hope and vision. With a smile he heard his mentor's reedy voice. _Those are powerful gifts m'boy. Aye, powerful._

However, it meant that any doubts that he had could not be voiced. He winced in recollection over his meeting with Lily Evans and James. He shouldn't have let those two know what he feared. He had betrayed his weakness…and, a part of him also felt, their trust. It was what people had always held onto: Dumbledore can save us.

With a soft exhalation of breath, Dumbledore returned to his seat. A parchment appeared out of nowhere and closing his eyes, Dumbledore separated from himself and joined the map.

Ghost Dumbledore joined the streets of London. Invisible to passers-by, he sent out tendrils of thought to each and every one of the buildings in a five-mile radius. Each and every ghost thread sought for a sniff of Voldemort, or a residue of his passing.

After five minutes his tendrils returned to him, and ghost Dumbledore sighed. Nothing. His search had proved fruitless again.

He turned quickly and took himself back to his waiting body. Opening his eyes, Dumbledore groaned softly as his muscles and limbs protested his absence. Nothing. Dumbledore reached out and put a tiny 'x' on the map.

His eyes roamed the map. So many places still to be searched, so many 'x's, so few question marks.

With a muttered oath Dumbledore stood up and walked to the staircase. Saying the passwords, the griffin started the slow passage downwards. Upon reaching the ground floor, Dumbledore began to walk in the direction of the kitchens.

House elves. Handy little things, really. Before he would begin his next search he needed food. Preferably chocolate, but he would take anything at the moment.

It was when he was halfway to the kitchens that he heard the noise. It was a peculiar noise and most would have missed it. Turning on his heel, Dumbledore turned into an empty classroom from which he thought he had heard the noise come from.

The room wasn't empty. In it was an enormous black hound. Dread filled him. Voldemort always used black animals… always. This was a spy.

The dog seemed to sense his intrusion and turned around. The dog looked up and met Dumbledore's eyes. Dumbledore smiled slightly as the dog wagged its tail and began to walk closer, his trepidation fading.

Kneeling down, he held out a hand to the animal and let him sniff it. "Are you a spy then, old boy? I'm reasonably certain none of the students own you."

The dog looked at him with intelligent green eyes and then with a flash of light, where the dog had stood, sat a man.

Dumbledore's eyes traced over him quickly. He seemed tall, and unfed. Bony. His face bore a lingering remanence of what was probably a very handsome young man, and long black hair with streaks of grey fell over one eye. Something tried to shift and Dumbledore willed that whatever it was stood still.

A woman with black hair and porcelain skin figured vividly in his mind before the man rasped, "I'm not a spy."

Dumbledore gazed piercingly into the man's blue eyes. "What are you then?" asked Dumbledore finally, perceiving he could be trusted.

A manic laugh tore from the other man's lips but Dumbledore's gaze never faltered. In the end the man spoke. "It doesn't matter what I am or am not. Only that I am a friend. And that I want what's best for those around me."

Dumbledore nodded, understanding that some secrets were better kept secret. "I see. Any words of advice?" he enquired casually.

The other man grinned wolfishly. "Keep an eye on the marauders. All of them. And keep them safe."

With that, he transformed back into the enormous black dog and jumped over Dumbledore. All that Dumbledore saw as he turned around was a wagging black tail as it disappeared around the corner.

Standing up the old man wondered what he had left the office for. Images of maps and searching filled his mind and he remembered.

Chocolate. With one last look around the empty classroom, Dumbledore set off once more.

* * *

James laughed at a particularly raucous joke Sirius had just told, but his eyes were fixed on Lily. Her hair was curling just at the ends, and a few crimson strands fell into her eyes as she laughed. It was just as well they were going out now really. Otherwise he'd probably get hit over the head for harassment.

"Mate," said Sirius with a slight slur. "Have you asked her yet?"

James turned and saw his friend looking slightly the worse for wear. Blushing, James shook his head.

Remus raised an enquiring eyebrow and leaned forward, his face propped on his fists. "Asked her what Prongs?"

James paused to glare at Sirius who in turn grinned at him with a saint-like expression. "He asked you, not me, Prongs," laughed Sirius before pushing himself up off the stool. "I'm going to go talk to Edana."

The three boys nodded in acknowledgement, and James muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like, "And may she kick you where it hurts."

Sirius, not hearing nor caring, stumbled over to where Edana, Lily, Tess and the other girls sat chatting.

He turned back to see Remus and now Peter eyeing him with interest. "So… what were you going to ask, my friend," grinned Remus.

Peter giggled in a way that James thought was most annoying and immature.

"Nothing worth mentioning," he declared before getting up. "I just remembered I haven't finished that Potions essay. I should, you know, probably go and do that."

Remus and Peter nodded in unison, wearing identical expressions that told him he would be hearing more of this later.

Once he had left The Three Broomsticks, and was walking in the chill air towards Hogwarts, James wondered if he was ever going to ask Lily. He didn't want to rush her. He wanted for her to be his and his alone. In his mind he could see Sirius nodding wisely and saying, _"You mean, you want to make it illegal for other men to have sex with her. I see, I see…"_

Telling the Sirius in his mind to shut the fuck up, James walked through the gates and into Hogwarts.

Now what?

James sighed and ran a hand through his already messy hair. He had said that he needed to do his potions essay, but in reality he had finished it the night before. Shaking his head at his own immaturity, James began to aimlessly roam the halls of Hogwarts.

He was about half-way back to Gryffindor tower when he heard a harsh laugh, followed by the soft voice of Dumbledore.

His attention captured, James began to walk towards where he had heard the sound. The voices became louder and louder as got closer to the source.

"…see. Any words of advice?" That was Dumbledore's voice.

James edged as close as he dared, and he heard a strangers voice.

"Keep an eye on the marauders. All of them. And keep them safe."

James' mouth gaped. Screwing the consequences, James went to the door of the classroom, and then leapt back as a giant black dog barrelled past him.

His brow furrowed as he looked after the dog. _Padfoot_

James would have stayed there, except something in his mind told him that he had better leave before Dumbledore caught him eavesdropping.

* * *

On the whole, Sirius thought he'd handled it rather well. He hadn't given too much away, and yet he'd given him a warning. Dumbledore was a cautious man, he'd heed a warning surely.

However, thought Sirius as he trotted through Hogsmeade in the form of Padfoot, it hadn't gone _quite_ the way he'd planned. Or rather, imagined.

Sirius hadn't actually had a plan. He'd just realised if he'd be able to see anyone, it would be Dumbledore.

So caught up was he in his thoughts that he didn't hear them until it was almost too late.

"'Daaaaaanah. I luuuuuv myyy Daaaaaaanah."

Padfoot quickly slipped into the darkness where he blended into the pitch black shade.

His younger self was leading the group, singing at the top of his lungs.

Sirius cringed as his younger versions off-key voice assaulted his ears. Doing his best to block out the noise he continued to watch. An amused Edana strolled up behind the singing young man and slipped her arms around his waist.

"Hey there, tiger. How about we put the serenade on hold for a bit?"

The younger Sirius was obviously fairly well-gone, and he turned around in shock. "Dana!" he slurred, holding his arms open.

Edana grinned and lead him off out of Padfoot's sight.

Not far behind him came Lily, Tess and Remus, the female members of the trio convulsed with giggles. A pale Remus was watching them with a perplexed expression on his face. "Just what's so funny about Sirius getting pissed?" he was heard to ask.

Finally Tess managed to gasp out an answer in her softly Irish accented voice. "The song is meant to be… 'I love my _dinner_.' "

Hearing the answer, Remus cracked a grin as well. Looking around Remus then shyly took hold off Tess' hand. Sirius saw the violet-eyed girl look up at Remus with a confused expression.

Sirius grinned mentally as Remus blushed and dropped Tess' hand, only to have Tess smile reassuringly and take his.

Sirius stayed in the darkness until they were far out of his sight and then slipped back into the light of day. With a wag in his tail Padfoot continued onward towards the cave that he had hid in during Harry's fourth year.

His mind re-lived the snippet he had seen of Tess and Remus' relationship. _That_ was how love should be. No words were needed, they had both just understood and relaxed into each other's presence.

He amended the thought – it wasn't how love should be, it was how love _was_.

* * *

Sunday dawned bright and clear in Hogwarts as Sirius opened bleary eyes and tried to remember what he'd done the day before.

Someone dragged the curtains back and overly bright sunlight met his bloodshot eyes.

"Sirius!" came James' cheerful voice.

"You sodding bastard," growled Sirius. "What happened yesterday?"

James laughed and the noise grated on Sirius' overly sensitive ears. "Let me guess – you've put your keen and penetrating mind to the problem and can't remember a thing?"

Sirius gave him a darkling look and James relented. "You got pissed. What more do I need to say?"

Sirius groaned and sat up in bed and reached blearily for his wand. _"Soberatus."_ He intoned, pointing the wand at himself.

Thanking Merlin for sobering charms, Sirius then dragged his weary bones out of bed and threw his robes on haphazardly.

James walked with him to the common room where Edana was waiting with raised eyebrows. "Feeling a bit delicate were we?" she asked archly.

Sirius gave her a pathetic look with big grey eyes. "Not you too?"

Edana gave him the look she had perfected when she was a prefect. "Considering that you were serenading me in the streets of Hogsmeade..." she said, letting the sentence trail off.

Sirius looked pleadingly at James. "Come on… I didn't, right?"

James simply raised his eyebrows and smiled at his friend.

With a sigh, Sirius ran his fingers through his long mane and motioned for them to all go to the Great Hall.

All was silent as they entered through the doors, and their playful bantering broke off as though in response to the rest of the wide-spread silence.

Quickly making their way to the Gryffindor table they slid into their seats.

Wordlessly, a pale-faced Remus passed the Daily Prophet to Sirius and James. Plastered over the front page was image after image of Muggles and wizards alike being tortured and murdered by a group of hooded beings. Death Eaters.

The most graphic image was of a destroyed building, people scattered in the area around it, bleeding and lying in unnatural postures.

Edana saw Remus' sickened face and grabbed the paper off him when he didn't say anything. Sirius then met Edana's direct blue eyes when she looked up from the paper. "How many?" she asked in an unnaturally controlled voice.

Sirius tried to hedge around the question. "Well… it's difficult to say…"

Edana's voice took on a harsh edge. "Cut the crap Siri. How many died?"

"About two hundred. Wizards and Muggles." Sirius's voice was soft with an indescribable grief.

Edana's face turned sheet white and she drew in a sharp breath. "Merlin."

Then she buried her face in her hands and started to sob. Sirius gathered her up in his arms and he could have sworn that he heard her voice say brokenly "_Why?"_

Sirius wasn't sure if she was asking him or not, and he didn't answer. Even if she had been asking him, he didn't know and probably never would.

* * *

**_AN:_**Thankyou time! And apology time on my part. I'm incredibly sorry for my delay – I just had a few million assignments dumped on me and I couldn't write. School's like that I guess – no consideration for what you might be doing in your spare time.__

**_Lunatic Pandora: _**Um… yeah. The way I did it was that he first had to a) work out where he was and then check up on his friends. And then Dumbledore. But thanks for the reminder ;-)

**_Ashton Rushing:_**The italics are what happened when the Sirius who was bought back to life was that age. And Sirius is the same age as he was in canon and Harry's godfather.

**_Sweet 16 Movie Buff:_**You know it's kinda sad on my part. When I last posted an entry, you hadn't started in memory of Sirius Black II, I finally post the next chapter and you've finished. __

**_Moon Burst:_**Yep – the older Sirius is still in there. As demonstrated (hopefully) by this chapter

**_Pdlegirl_******W00t! my story rates a wow! Sorry, just had to celebrate a bit there. I'm glad you liked the style of the fourth chapter – I'm thinking of making it that every time something changes (like in the last timeline Edana died, this time she lived) to do a chapter like that to show how it changed and how many people it effects. I'm not sure – it's a thought.


	6. Rejoining the Pack

**Sirius' Choice**

**Chapter Six: Rejoining the Pack.**

_Whimsical Firefly_

**Author's Note:** A reasonably quick update. This should keep people happy until I can next update (in a week or so. I have two more exams left). This chapter focuses mainly on everyone's favourite werewolf.

**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter and all identifiable characters belong to J.K. Rowlings.

* * *

_James closed his book with a decisive snap, causing the other three to look up at him._

_"It's time."_

_Remus closed his eyes and nodded with a look of forced cheerfulness upon his face. "Alright then."_

_Sirius closed his book and sat up straight. "Do you want me to walk you down to the infirmary, mate? Or will you be alright?"_

_"I'll be fine," said Remus with a slight smile._

_Peter then grinned. "Guess we'll be seeing you later then."_

_Remus laughed. "Guess so." And with that he left the common room._

_James watched him go with a thoughtful look on his face, and then turned back to the others. "I don't think he realizes," he said softly to Sirius and Peter._

_"Realizes what?" demanded Sirius. "That it's full moon? Because you know Prongs, I think he would have figured that out by now."_

_James gave his longtime friend a quelling look. "I don't think he realizes that it's harvest moon tonight."_

_Sirius' olive face drained of all colour. "Bloody hell."_

_Peter looked between the two of them for a moment and then said "What? I don't get it."_

_James sighed. "It's like this Wormtail. I'll explain it in simple easy to understand terms. It is harvest moon. This means that…"_

_"Simple and easy to understand terms, Prongs."_

_James laughed and then continued. "It means that the moon is closer to the earth than normal, and it'll pull more strongly on Remus' blood."_

_Peter nodded with his brow furrowed. "Which means what?"_

_Sirius gave his friend an incredulous look. "Which means that his transformation will be more violent than usual. Which means that he's going to be more difficult to control than usual."_

_"Oh," said Peter, his face draining of colour as well._

_"Exactly," chorused James and Sirius in unison._

_James surveyed the opulent common room before collapsing next to Sirius. "We're just going to have to be…"_

_"…Really, really careful. And not let Moony out of our sight for a single instant." finished Sirius._

_The three boys nodded in silent agreement, before getting off the soft scarlet lounges and making their way out of the common room down to the Whomping willow._

* * *

__

Sirius looked up at the moon and smiled. During his years in Azkaban the moon had been one of the few things he had been able to see from his cell window it had kept him sane. He had remembered Moony and Prongs, and running free with them on nights such as these.

And tonight Padfoot would run again with his pack.

Sirius frowned slightly. He wouldn't be running with, per say. More trailing along behind and simply remembering what it had been like to be young and free. He looked up at the overly large and yellow moon before transforming into his Animagi form.

Lifting his shaggy head up to the moon he howled into the cold night. Padfoot would run again…

* * *

Remus heard a low howl split the dusky evening as he made his way towards the Shreiking Shack, and shivered.

Soon that would be all he was reduced to. _No_, he berated himself, _they'll come and it'll be fine._

But his inner cynic laughed derisively. It's a harvest moon, _moony_. Surely you're not so overcome with your humanity that you've forgotten what that means.

With a gasp, Remus swiveled on the ball of his foot to see what lay behind him. Sure enough there was the moon in all of it's large orange glory. His heart started thudding loudly against his ribcage as he watched the moon entranced by it's light. His mind drifted to his worst memories of his life so far.

That was the thing he never told his friends. The transformations always had a similar effect to a dementor, and he relived his most vivid and terrifying memories. Over and over, until the transformation was complete.

He screamed as he felt his skin change, and as he changed he saw a group of death eaters gather around a group of helpless children. A cool, chilly voice intoned, _"Kill them. Kill them all". _A group bowed obsequiously and then yells of _'Crucio'_ and _"Avada Kedavra"_ were intermixed with terrified screams and laughter.

He was hiding somewhere and watching from above where the dark figure couldn't see him.

_But this is not my memory!_ Remus realized and began to fight the reliving. He was transported to another unfamiliar place. A dark room with high ceilings and lavish furnishings. It should have been beautiful and yet it was terrifying, and he was scared, with his heart beating rapidly against his chest.

He was looking up at the ceiling when the door creaked open and a tall man with hooded eyes came into his line of vision.

"That was a very stupid thing that you did there."

Remus found himself shaking. He knew there was a punishment, somewhere.

"The consequence is the same as always," said the man coldly, lifting his wand. "_Crucio_".

Remus screamed as he felt his spine re-align itself and then he howled to the moon, knowing that his human grip on his body had left him.

This was what it meant to be alive! The night was his own.

"He's changed." Came a soft voice from outside his room. "Let's go."

There were people? People! His appetite whetted, Moony jumped the door, to no success. But there are people! People!

Kill, ravage, tear, hurt, bite, snarl, snap! People! Bite!

No people. Why are there no people? Now there are animals… Padfoot. Packmate, friend. They were here!

The door was barreled over by a large black dog, but Moony was ready for him. With a snarl he leapt onto the dog, and aimed for the neck. The dog dodged his attack and pounced on him before he landed.

Moony snarled but submitted to the other animals superiority in the pack. Getting back onto his paws he shook himself out and went to greet the other members of his unconventional pack. Prongs was mighty and awe-inspiring, as Moony looked up at him. And the rat. He wanted to eat the rat, but some urgent voice said that he couldn't, and he heeded it. For now.

If he got hungry though…

Padfoot bounded down the stairs, followed by Moony and Wormtail, as well as prongs at a more sedate speed as he walked down the stairs.

Moony followed his pack through Hogsmeade. He didn't know where they were going, but there were people! More people.

The desire to bite and taste blood returned as their scent grew stronger. Padfoot tackled him and another round of play-fighting ensured. Once he and his pack had left the village, Moony calmed down some. Now it was just him and his pack, and this time, this night, this place was their own.

He howled to the moon, his sister and his friend. For only she could set him free like this. Padfoot joined in and they serenaded the moon as Prongs stood guard and Wormtail squeaked.

Padfoot soon grew bored with this though and began to walk through the forest. Moony once more trailed behind his leader. Except… that smell. It was… Human!

Blood… Moony glanced up ahead and began to race off in a new direction. Padfoot didn't hear and didn't follow. He was finally and truly free, and the wolf in him rejoiced.

Now the person… about a mile away. Moony sped up as the scent grew stronger, until there it was.

Human. Tall and willowy, female to judge the scent of it. He wanted her blood tonight, for her blood ran strongly, he could sense it.

He began to circle his target and wished briefly his pack was here. But they found this nowhere near as fun as he did, and so he went it alone. The human had no idea he was here, and Moony celebrated inwardly. Bite!

He leapt for the humans jugular, and was rewarded with a scream… but he didn't make contact, at least not with her.

A large shaggy black dog collided with Moony, and blocked him from the woman. The two creatures rolled, interlocked and snarling at each other, until they came to a stop, with the black dog atop of him.

…_Padfoot?_

With a growl the black dog nipped him and clambered off, but continued to circle the animal. Moony whined uncertainly. It looked and smelled like Padfoot, but it couldn't be. Padfoot was away, somewhere else.

The dog lifted it's shaggy head and howled three times, and Remus surfaced briefly in Moony's psyche to realize that that was the warning signal that the three had established a while ago.

So it _was_ Padfoot!

There was a crash behind him and a midnight dog emerged from the bush folled by a dark stag. Moony whined again. That was Padfoot… but Padfoot was still behind him as well.

Moony watched as the two Padfoot's faced each other and began to circle, growling. Then with a sudden whine the other Padfoot ran from the clearing grabbing the girls hand as he went.

Moony watched them go and felt a brief pang as he realized that he wouldn't get to bite tonight after all, but that thought was curtailed as Padfoot tackled him.

The rest of the night was spent in play-fighting and exploring the forbidden forest.

* * *

Remus woke slowly and gave a dry cough. Sirius stood leaning against a wall with his hands in his pockets and head down, whilst James sat slumped over against the wall.

James heard him cough and looked over at his friend with an unreadable expression. Dread and nausea fought for dominance as Remus realized that something had happened, and that it wasn't good.

Bracing himself for the answer, "Did I bite someone?" he asked in a voice little over a whisper.

James and Sirius immediately looked up with denials on their lips. "Of course not!" said Sirius vehemently. "It's all good, you were just a bit more…"

Sirius and James traded a look which Remus saw.

"A bit more difficult to control?"

Sirius nodded ruefully. "We weren't really expecting you to be that bad. Are you hurt? You may have a few nasty scratches."

Remus stood up warily. "Nope, the occasional bruise, but that's to be expected."

James and Sirius looked relieved at Remus' answer. "Time to go back to school," said James, pushing himself up off the ground. "Peter went ahead. I think it's harder on the rat than the rest of us."

Sirius laughed. "Yes, such a tasty little morsel..".

"I don't, do I?" asked Remus in a horrified voice.

James and Sirius burst out laughing and ushered their friend out of their room and towards the sick bay.

* * *

"Are you sure you're alright?" inquired Lily in a worried tone.

Tess laughed softly, and held up her bandaged wrist. "I'm fine! The only damage I got was this, and that was from the dog saving me."

"I can't believe that they'd have such a dangerous creature around the school, though," said Lily, for what was about the fourth time that morning.

Tess shrugged. "It was my fault. I shouldn't have been in the forest last night."

Lily fixed her friend with a _look_, but didn't ask why she had gone. She had a fair idea as to why. Better to let Tess say it in her own time than to try and force it out of her now.

Tess opened her mouth to say something, but both girls were interrupted by the _sming-creak-clip_ that was the infirmary door opening.

"I'll go see who it is," murmured Lily to Tess. Tess shook her head and got up with Lily and walked out the curtain.

A worn and battered Remus was stumbling in with the help of James and Sirius, neither of whom looked all that healthy.

"What happened?" gasped Tess. Remus looked up to meet her gaze and his eyes widened in recognition of something. Then, to the surprise of everyone, he fainted onto the floor.

* * *

"What happened?" someone gasped, and Remus looked up to see Tess, looking beautiful and oddly familiar. Then his eyes traveled down to the strapping on her hand.

Something in the depths of Remus' mind lurched, before his world turned black.

- - -

Human. Tall and willowy, female to judge the scent of it. Short dark hair flowed around her pale face as she turned towards him.

_'Don't do it,'_ yelled Remus, but his voice had no effect on the wolf's psyche. _'Please!'._

The wolf jumped and lunged, and Remus closed his eyes to block out what he knew must happen next.

But he didn't make contact, or at least, not with the girl. A shaggy black dog tackled him from the side, and with relief Remus ffelt the wolf's mass thrust over to the side.

_Padfoot?_

The dog lifted it's head and let out the warning call that the three had established long ago. So it was Padfoot! Remus rejoiced that his friend had found him.

Prongs, Wormtail and… Padfoot? Remus shook his head and peered from one shaggy black dog to another, trying to spot a difference.

There wasn't one.

The two dogs began to circle each other, and Remus watched. It was like a mirror image except not, as one would wag their tail in a different part, or one would growl out of time with the other. Apart from that though, there was no difference.

The Padfoot closest to him, suddenly turned and grabbed the hand of the forgotten woman and dragged out of the clearing. As she was dragged away, Remus was able to get a clear glimpse of her face.

- - -

Remus' eyes flew open. "Tess?" he croaked in bewilderment. He heaved himself up and looked around the empty hospital wing. No one else was there.

Then he remembered the most baffling section of his dream.

_Two Padfoots?_

* * *

__

**AN**: Another chapter over! This has been posted unbetaed for an extremely selfish reason: It's my birthday on Monday 13th. And lots of reviews would be a **really** great birthday present…

That was a not-so-subtle hint.

Anyway, thank-you time!

**_PhiloNysh:_** Lol, I checked your profile, and your Australian! (Sorry, I'm Aussie too. Always nice to find another Aussie along for the ride).

**_Geminia:_** Yep, you're hyper! I might not actually have to sacrifice anyone… guess we'll all see as time goes on.

**_Lady of the Dragons2:_** I don't think I'll write an AU Harry fic. Not until I've finished this one, anyway, and that's going to be awhile in coming. It's an idea anyway, Thanks!

**_Sweet 16 Movie Buff:_** You're a bit off track. Death let Sirius go back to when Edana died, which was a term before he finished at Hogwarts (so, seventh year). He was sent back to change things so that it didn't end up as bad as it was in the canon for Sirius and Harry. He hasn't been given a 'second-chance' exactly: he's still the same age as he was when he fell through the veil, he's not fully re-living it. More re-watching, and trying to change things here or there. I hope that helped, although knowing me you're probably more confused than when I started explaining. Oh well, just read and enjoy, and keep asking me questions.__


	7. Planning Something

**Sirius Choice**

****

**Chapter Seven: Planning Something**

_Whimsical Firefly_

**Author's Note:** A lot of people were asking me about the 'sort-of' cliffie in the reviews, and what Tess is hiding (if anything). This chapter should hopefully answer that question, and then raise a few million more in return. Enjoy!

Thanks goes to James Milamber for editing.

**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter and all recognizable characters are property of J.K. Rowling.

* * *

_"He's up to something," announced Sirius as he paced the common room._

_James looked up from where he and Lily were sitting and ran a hand through unruly hair. "Sirius, sit down."_

_"I swear to Merlin, he's planning something! It's been months-"_

_"Six and a half weeks," interrupted Lily without looking up from her textbook._

_"Fine!" said Sirius, throwing his hands up in the air and mimicking her perfectly. "'Six and a half weeks if you want to be exact.' Oh, hang on. Is that to the hour? To the minute? Ooh! Let's be really precise and make it to the second, eh?"_

_James gave his friend a quelling look, and Sirius subsided._

_"My point is, for awhile there we couldn't go a day without getting news of another attack. He's up to something big, and we need to be aware of it. Maybe he's planning a mass-attack on muggle-borns and-"_

_Lily slammed her textbook shut with a decisive snap and stood up, emerald eyes burning. "We're _all_ aware of what he's capable of, Sirius. But while we're stuck here we can't do anything. Don't you think the majority of the students have enough to worry about with O.W.L's and N.E.W.T's without you adding your own bit of neurotica to the mix?" As she spoke, her voice rose in pitch, and her pale cheeks flushed with anger and frustration._

_"Lils, calm down…" started James soothingly, attempting to put his arms around her._

_She turned around quickly to avoid him and stomped her foot, yelling, "I don't _want_ to calm down!" She shoved her textbook into James' arms and stormed up the girl's stairs._

_James stood holding the textbook and staring up after her, before turning back towards Sirius and putting the book carefully on the table._

_"Nice work, Padfoot," said James dryly. _

_Sirius looked up in astonishment. "How was that my fault?"_

_James raised his eyebrows. "Lily's just a tad sensitive on the subject of attacks on muggle-borns and their families. Can't imagine why, can you?" he queried dryly. "Besides, she was right. The students have enough problems without you stirring them up further."_

_Sirius stretched out onto the sofa and propped his feet up on the armrest. "Whatever you reckon mate. He is planning something though. Mark my words."_

_"Consider them marked."_

_Sirius hesitated, and then asked, "Are you sure you want to marry her?"_

_James groaned and buried his face in his hands. _

_"No, really. She tends to fly off the handle a bit. Quite frequently, actually," Sirius continued._

_"Sirius?" came James' muffled voice from behind his hands._

_"Yeah?"_

_James looked up and his hazel eyes met stark gray ones. "Kindly keep your nose out of that aspect of my life."_

* * *

__

Edana lay perfectly still in her opulent four-poster bed as she listened to Tess and Lily gossip across from her. Considering that the topic of gossip was currently her boyfriend, should she be proven to be awake, then would then naturally want her opinion on the matter. Better to stay still and wait for them to change topic.

Finally, after what seemed like an age, Lily's voice took on a different tone. "So… that night. What _were_ you doing in the forbidden forest?"

Edana's eye's widened slightly. _When_ was Lily talking about exactly?

She heard Tess's softly lilting voice say, "I was following…"

There was nothing for it, Edana decided desperately. She sneezed loudly.

"Edana?" came Lily's enquiring voice. A moment later, her crimson head poked through the curtains.

"Mm…?" murmured Edana, doing her best to look pathetic and ill. "I dink I hab a cold," she whispered quite convincingly.

Naturally, this appealed to Lily's mothering instinct. "Oh, 'Dana!" cried Lily. "Why didn't you say something, instead of lying there feeling ill. Stay here with Tess, I'll go to Madame Pomfrey and get you some Pepper-up potion. Or would you prefer a sleeping draught?"

Edana pretended to consider. "I'll need both ebentully," she said looking up at Lily with wide blue eyes.

Lily nodded, and soothingly pulled the covers up to Edana's chin. "Wait here then," said Lily before leaving the room.

Tess then moved from where she had been sitting cross-legged on the edge of the bed, to next to Edana. "Lily's right, you know," she stated.

"When ibn't she?" muttered Edana into her pillow, but she was relieved to see Tess laugh.

"True spoken," the Irish girl agreed, pushing back a strand of Edana's hair that had fallen over her face. "She is however, one of the nicest people you'll ever meet."

Edana nodded, suddenly overcome with guilt for deceiving her friends the way she had been. She thought back to what Lily had asked.

_"So…that night. What _were_ you doing in the forbidden forest." _Only one way to find out, thought Edana.

"I'm sorry to habe interrubted your talk wib Lily dough," said Edana, crossing her fingers. "Who dwere you following?"

Tess looked up with direct violet eyes. "You."

Edana felt all warmth suddenly leave her system. Tess knew. There was no getting around it. "Oh…"

Seconds passed, and each one felt like an hour to Edana as she looked into Tess' unyielding eyes. "Could you _not_ tell anyone?"

Tess didn't respond, but merely watched Edana as her brow furrowed in thought.

The banging of the door as it opened spared Edana.

"Got them!" announced Lily brightly, and Tess stood up silently and went back to her bed.

"Dank-you," whispered Edana to Lily. She then downed the potion without protest, ignoring the burn it caused as she swallowed.

Compared to the pain she felt inside from losing a treasured friend, the burn of the potion didn't even exist.

* * *

Remus watched the enemy as they circled, wands at the ready.

_"Dolur Aciudus!"_ he cried suddenly, flicking his wand in a star pattern.

His opponent was ready for his offensive move. _"Tego Texi Inexpugnabilis."_ The spell rebounded harmlessly off the shield. With a wave of his wand the other wizard dismissed the shield. _"Perces Acerbus!"_ The room became pitch black.

Remus laughed. "Do you really think that will make a difference? I can see excellently in the dark."

"As can I!" came the retort, followed by a yell of _"Fervidus Ictus!"_

Remus heard the spell come from behind him. He swung quickly in that direction and yelled _"Aboleo!"_ The spell disintegrated.

_Now where was his enemy hiding…?_ He had to be here somewhere. Remus closed his eyes and listened for the breathing of his enemy followed by the soft padding of feet on the cold stone floor. There… and there, and there, and there, and …

Remus cursed under his breath. He must of used _'Geminio'_ a few times. How to tell which was which? He didn't understand how that spell worked fully. Making a mental note to look it up, Remus suddenly spun around the room.

_"Commoveo!"_ His five opponents spun through the air and landed in a crumpled heap on the floor. They seemed to have knocked each other out.

_"Resero Ingenium."_ He muttered at the first one whilst it re-orientated itself. It vanished.

_"Resero Ingenium."_ He turned to another that was spinning dizzily in circles. It vanished as well.

So far so good. _"Resero Ingenium!"_ He yelled pointing at the opponent who was nursing a wrist and wincing.

A golden halo surrounded him. Remus knew now that he was good, and that he was real. Now the fun began.

_"Gelo!"_ he cried, brandishing his wand at the two remaining copies. They immediately froze in their movements, and with a grim chuckle, Remus turned towards his opponent once more. This battle was as good as his. He felt confident and strong.

His opponent did a quick swivel and flicked his wand. _"Alacer Casus!"_

Remus attempted to dodge the spell, but wasn't quick enough. He felt his legs give out and went slamming towards the floor at an unusual angle. A sharp searing around his neck told him that he'd damaged his collarbone.

His opponent paused. "Do you submit?"

Remus glared at him balefully, then pointed his wand towards himself. _"Medico!"_. He gasped as the bone realigned itself, but got to his feet quickly.

His opponent was not about to let him off that easily. _"Commoveo!"_

Remus was ready for this spell. _"Speculum!"_ The spell rebounded off the mirror-shield that Remus had conjured, straight back to the one who had cast it.

He gasped as he was picked up and thrown violently against the wall by an invisible force.

Remus winced in sympathy as he heard bones crack on contact. However, now was not the time for pity. "Your turn. Do _you_ submit?"

His opponent swore at him, then attempted to get back on his feet. _I'll take that as a 'no'_, thought Remus.

His mind racing, Remus knew that anything he cast at this stage would be effective. At least two bones would have been broken in that fall, and the rest of his body would have been badly bruised and scraped. Remus pondered briefly why his adversary didn't just cast Medico. Instant healing so long as the wounds weren't fatal.

Shrugging, Remus leveled his wand at his challenge, and spoke the one spell he knew would be hell with those injuries. _"Fervidus Ictus."_

His opponent screamed loudly, and Remus could only imagine what the hex would feel like. "Do you submit?" he asked, praying to whoever was listening that his challenger said yes, so he wouldn't have to listen to the screams.

"I sub…mit…" gasped his opponent. And with a sigh of relief, Remus yelled _"Medico"_ at his friend and walked over.

"One hell of a duel, James," said Remus softly.

James nodded with a faint grin, still breathing heavily. "You could say that again."

Remus raised an eyebrow, but didn't take the bait. "Do you need a hand up? A trip to an infirmary?"

"A coffin?" James asked looking up at Remus wistfully.

Remus smiled and shook his head at his friend, ignoring the twinge of guilt that said this was all his fault.

Laughing, James extended a hand up which Remus took and used to help him up. "Seriously though Moony, those were some pretty sweet moves that you pulled. You earned that one."

"Mmm…" said Remus in a non-committal tone. "The first time I've won a duel between us in awhile, is it not?"

"The last time you won a duel was a week ago against Sirius, there's no need to rub it in."

Remus laughed as they walked towards the common room. He knew what a pair they must look. Both of them had visible scrapes and bruises. James had torn his robe and his hair was messy, but that was usual. It was less usual however, for Remus' pale locks to be sticking up and dripping with sweat.

"What was that spell you used?" queried James.

"Which one?"

"When you injured yourself, I was sure I'd won, but then…Then you muttered a spell, and you were fine. What was it?"

Remus furrowed his brow in thought and then grinned. "That was _'Medico'_. It's a handy little spell."

James rolled his eyes and muttered something that sounded like "understatement of the century" as they entered the Gryffindor common room.

Before they turned and walked up the stairs, James reached out and grabbed Remus' forearm. "Teach me the spell tomorrow, okay?"

Remus looked into earnest hazel eyes, and nodded.

* * *

The self-styled Lord Voldemort sat alone in a dark antechamber. It wasn't like him to be waiting for a lesser being, but when it came to this one, he had no choice.

A firm knock announced his arrival. Voldemort turned and watched as the door swung open, and a tall young man strode confidently into the room. He had light brown hair tied back into a ponytail, and wore robes similar to those of a Death Eater. A silver embossed sword hilt leading into a black scabbard rode at his hip.

Voldemort locked eyes with the man and motioned for him to sit down. Twinkling blue eyes conveyed the essence of a smirk, as the man sat down and propped black boots onto the desktop that Voldemort was sitting at. In an indication of extreme enchantment, the sword scabbard seemed to slide straight through the chair as he sat.

Clasping his hands indolently across his stomach, the man leaned back and smiled charmingly.

Voldemort mouth twisted bitterly as he looked at the smug young man, and without a word flicked a rolled up parchment in his general direction.

The man caught it but didn't open it. "Aww, Tommy," he said, the laughter in his voice only barely suppressed. "I'd rather hoped we were past all this."

Voldemort didn't answer, instead choosing to fix the man with his most threatening glare. Where most of his Death Eaters would have backed off, the man instead leaned closer, taking his feet off the desktop.

"Was it something I said?" he inquired with mock-innocence.

Voldemort stood and gazed down at this annoyance imposingly. This was all well and good until the man stood and stretched lazily. Cursing, Voldemort realized that he was shorter than the man standing opposite him.

The man's pale blue eyes still contained some inner amusement as he looked down at He Who Must Not Be Named. "I guess that's my hint to leave?"

Voldemort nodded testily, and the man turned to leave the room. About five paces from the door however, he turned to face Voldemort once more. "I'll talk to you later, Tommy old boy. It's been fun."

The Dark Lord's patience at the other man's insubordination snapped. Ignoring the consequences, Voldemort drew out his wand and muttered _"Crucio!"_

With reflexes quicker than the eye could see, the young man turned around to meet the curse. His eyes glowed with an intense blue light, and his hand deflected it. His expression hardened as he met Voldemort's gaze. "I'm not one of your minions. A word of advice would be not to treat me as one.' The man flicked his hand.

Voldemort felt himself being lifted from his chair and slamming against the wall. He looked up to see the man still standing there. "I hope that made my message clear," he said coldly. "My Lord," he added on as an after thought, executing a mocking bow. "Until we have the misfortune to meet again."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Another chapter over. I'm on holidays for the next two weeks, so hopefully I'll get a few chapters written and ready. Brownie points to whoever can guess who the young man who was with Voldemort is (Mr. Milamber, you don't count. You already know)

Also, give credit where it's due. In the duel between James and Remus, all spells used were taken from www . terion . net (which is Saerry Snape's homepage). There were also two lines that came from Pirates of the Caribbean. Does anyone want to guess which ones?

**_Sweet 16 Movie Buff:_** Well, that should answer your question. (Or did it? ::evil laughter:: )

****

**_Lunatic Pandora1:_** I don't quite get what you meant by "I wonder if the old Sirius is going to come out soon…" O.o Can you explain? If I like it, I might be able to work it in somehow (and if it's something I already plan on doing, I'll give you credit for it anyway).

**_James Milamber:_** Set flossums on my reviewers? Are you mad?? I wouldn't have any reviewers left!

_**Soleil Luna:**_ Yes! You got it! ::does victory dance:: However, do you still get it after this chapter…? 

**_PhiloNysh:_** ::blushes:: Don't think you have any reason to be jealous though. I love your story. It's such a different take on Lily, James and everyone else, and yet it still fits so well. It's great!

**_The Follower:_** 16 as of the 13th of September. It's so exciting! Edana isn't a wuss, per se. She has her reasons for acting the way she does. As for Padfoot being in the memory… I'm not saying ;)


	8. Unwarranted Attack

**Sirus' Choice**

****

**Chapter Eight: An Unwarranted Attack.**

_Whimsical Firefly_

**Author's Note: **This chapter is dedicated to Lady of the Dragons2 and Pink Flamingo 342, as they were the only ones who guessed who the random stranger was. Remember people, anything is possible. Also, congratulations to everyone who reviewed: between you, you got all the PotC references. Whee!!!!

**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter and all recognizable characters are property of J.K. Rowling.

* * *

_Two ebony heads were bent determinedly over the same piece of parchment. To all appearances they were hard at work._

_Just not on their Transfiguration class work._

_James twisted his mouth as he considered Sirius' proposal. "Possibly, although it needs a bit of work. Maybe if we -"_

_"-were to up the strength of the potion, and combine it with a spell similar to the one on the Great Hall!" finished Sirius._

_Hazel and gray eyes twinkled mischievously, but any further plotting was disturbed by Professor McGonagall's voice behind them. "What are you doing, boys?"_

_James and Sirius both turned around hastily; as they did so all signs that they had been doing anything other than schoolwork vanished._

_"Nothing," they chorused innocently._

_McGonagall raised a knowledgeable brow. "Oh, really?" After receiving no reply other than angelic smiles she continued on. "I could have sworn I heard you planning the next Marauder stunt, which involved sneaking into the kitchen, slipping a hallucinogenic into the pumpkin juice, and then bewitching the entire castle with some form of weather charm."_

_"That's impossible, Professor." Sirius deadpanned._

_James continued straight-faced. "After all, we were whispering."_

_Something that could have almost passed for a smile crossed Professor McGonagall's stern face. The signal for that class to be dismissed sounded before she could issue a detention or deduct points. The mixed Gryffindor and Ravenclaw class hurriedly packed their books and left the classroom._

_Remus and Peter caught up with Sirius and James outside the classroom._

_"You were plotting without us?" asked Remus with a smile. "I'm hurt."_

_"Wounded beyond belief," Peter chimed in. _

_Sirius opened his mouth to retaliate to their good-natured jibing, when he was interrupted by something stopping immediately before him abruptly. _

_"Wha-" he started to say, before realizing exactly who was standing awkwardly in front of him._

_Amanda looked up with infuriated green eyes. "If you don't mind, _Black_, I left something in the classroom."_

_Sirius didn't move before her, and neither did any of his friends. Plastering a smirk upon his face that was designed to annoy, he asked, "This is my problem…how?"_

_Making a frustrated noise the young witch attempted to push past him. Unfortunately for her, Sirius had height and size to his advantage. Wrapping his arms casually around her waist he leaned closer to her and spoke softly. "I knew you couldn't resist me. What say we skip the next class and head straight to the dormitory?"_

_Something that came close to a scream erupted from Amanda's mouth and she stomped on his foot. As Sirius released her in shock, she quickly ducked between him and Remus and stormed back to the classroom._

_Remus looked at Sirius and asked pointedly, "Was there an actual point to that, Padfoot?"_

_"Of course there was," Sirius answered coolly. "To aggravate her as much as she aggravates me whenever I see her."_

_"But…she's in our house," said Peter as Sirius walked off. "You see her everyday."_

_Sirius looked behind his back to see his three friends standing there. "My point exactly."_

* * *

__

A tall young man walked the streets of Muggle London. He paid little attention to those around him, which should have made him an ideal target for pickpockets. Strangely enough, however, none seemed to notice him.

Whenever a person's gaze alighted on him, their attention simply slid away, and their mind was occupied with more important things.

Had anyone been able to look at him, they would have noticed a few things that weren't quite normal about him. For starters, he was wearing a black robe that went down to the ground. Secondly, unusually bright blue eyes that almost seemed to glow looked out from black hair kept long. And the piece de resistance was strapped around his waist: a sword, in a black and silver scabbard.

The man walked absorbed in his thoughts, mostly concerning the rolled up parchment in his robe pocket. He had looked at it briefly, and all seemed to be in order. His target was to be the Tiernes. They were a wizarding family he knew little about. They weren't politically powerful, nor were the wealthy. Briefly the young man had to wonder what they had done to deserve their fate, but he quickly dismissed the thought.

Their possible 'crime' could have been anything, so it was useless to wonder why. For all he knew it could be a matter of simple revenge on the part of good old Tom.

All he really cared about was that he had been promised a challenge with this family, and it would be one that he enjoyed.

* * *

Tess Loydell eased herself into the prefect baths and sighed deeply. All was well with the world. She frowned slightly. Maybe not all, but a good deal seemed to be better in her mind, just by feeling the warm scented water caress her body.

Looking around, Tess grinned as she realized that she was alone. True, it was past curfew, but then again, she was here. Giving a laugh that echoed of the pristine marble walls, she pushed herself off the wall of the bath and into the middle. Once she had made it into what was approximately the middle of the bath, she stretched and began doing tumbles in the water, like she and her sister Katy had done on holidays once long ago.

Katy… it was still painful to think of her younger sister, who had been killed in a Death Eater attack upon her home, but it was even more painful to not think of her.

"You look like a mermaid, playing in the water," came a soft male voice behind her. Startled, Tess whirled around in the water to see none other than Remus Lupin standing behind her, with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist.

_Slightly better than me wearing nothing at all_ she thought with something akin to amusement, before asking, "What are you doing here?"

"Great minds think alike I guess," said Remus in that easy-going way that was his and his alone. Tess felt a shiver roam over her body despite the warmth of the water, but didn't respond.

Uncertain golden eyes now watched her from the ledge of the bath. "You don't mind if I join you, right?"

Tess nodded slowly, still watching him warily. Remus looked nervous under her obvious scrutiny, and avoided eye contact.

After awhile he finally managed to ask, "Could you turn around, so I can…" gesturing towards the towel that was still wrapped around his waist for the sake of modesty, Tess blushed and nodded, turning her back towards him. A ripple in the water indicated when she could turn back around.

"So…" she started to say, but found she was unable to finish the sentence. She couldn't think of anything to talk about, except for the taboo subjects that she had forbidden herself from talking about. Especially in front of Remus.

"So…?" he echoed her. When there was no response he simply leaned back and watched her. Tess was beginning to wonder exactly how much he could see through the bubbles, when he broke the silence.

"Haven't really seen you around much since that Hogsmeade weekend," he said quietly. His voice seemed to be mostly neutral, but there did seem to be a hint of sadness laced through it.

Tess looked down at the bubbles as she treaded water. "I've been… busy, I guess."

Remus nodded, a hurt expression flitting across his features. "I see. Still, considering we're in the same house, and two of your best friends are dating two of mine… it wouldn't have hurt you to come over and say hello occasionally."

Tess looked up from treading water with a dangerous expression on her face. "I don't know Remus. I thought it might have been all for the best, considering that you're going behind one of said best friends backs with Edana!"

Her voice had gotten softer and deadlier towards the end of her proclamation. Having finished her statement, she looked briefly into Remus' stunned golden eyes before swimming over towards the edge of the bath and sliding out.

Remus watched her walk towards the stalls stunned. And not just by what she had said, given that she had yet to pick up her towel. After milli-seconds had passed, he finally managed to find his voice. "Tess, wait a minute!"

She stopped in the middle of the room, but didn't turn around. Remus got out of the pool-sized bathes quickly, grabbing both his and her towels as he did so. Walking towards her, he reached over and handed her a towel.

"What did you mean?" he asked softly.

She wrapped the towel around herself snugly, and turned towards him. "You know what I mean. You and Edana!"

"Wha-" started Remus, but Tess cut him off.

"Behind Sirius' back, no less! So much for that whole 'loyal friend' thing that you're always on about." She paused to take a breath and Remus opened his mouth to speak, but Tess continued on, regardless. "After that day in Hogsmeade, I thought that we were finally going out, but apparently not."

Remus grabbed her by the shoulders and held her still. "What on earth makes you think that Edana and I are… are…" he broke off, unable to finish the sentence.

Tess glared up at him balefully. "On the night of the full moon, you went missing. Edana didn't seem altogether surprised."

Remus paled at the mention of the full moon, but wisely let her continue.

'She went to bed as normal, but then she got up. I followed behind, but she was walking too quickly for me to catch up. She went into the forbidden forest, and I followed…" Tess' voice dropped off, as she watched Remus' head shake almost of it's own accord

"You were both missing, both around the same area, and when I asked Edana about it she went quiet, and asked me not to tell."

Remus looked at Tess, and noticed that she was shivering in her thin towel. Closing the distance between them, he wrapped his arms around her and simply held her for a moment.

"So is that why you were avoiding me?" he asked softly in her ear.

She nodded mutely into his shoulder, and Remus smiled softly. He relinquished his hold on her and stepped back, lifting her chin gently to look into her eyes. "Nothing like that is going on between me and Edana. Never has, never will."

Tess still didn't look entirely satisfied, but to fully remove her doubts would involve revealing something that Remus wasn't quite ready to do just yet. So instead he simply leaned forward and kissed her gently.

Tess moved closer and wrapped her arms around him, simply enjoying the kiss. At the back of her mind however, lurked one dominant thought. _What _was_ Edana doing in the Forbidden Forest?_

* * *

__

Sirius lay flat out on his four poster bed with his eyes half closed, whilst James sat leaning against his own four poster bed, eating Chocolate Frogs and sketching a picture of Lily.

After James felt the silence had stretched on for too long, he looked up at Sirius' supine form. "Padfoot?"

"Mmph?" mumbled Sirius in return.

James hid a smile and continued sketching. "Where's Moony and Wormtail?"

Lifting one hand lazily off his bed, Sirius indicated the general area of the room. "Check the map."

"Where is it?" asked James with a grin.

"Around here. Somewhere," answered Sirius sleepily.

James rolled his eyes at his friends unhelpful answer. _Well, there is an easier way to do this…_ he thought with a grin.

"_Accio_ Marauders Map!" cried James. After what seemed like an age, the map finally managed to untangle itself from under a pile of magazines, school books, clothes, and other assorted junk to rest in James' hand.

Unrolling it, James tapped it gently with his wand. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

Instantly ink appeared on the blank parchment. James waited patiently for the map to appear, and when it did, he scoured it for any sign of Peter and Remus.

Peter was easy. In the library, alone. James snorted derisively. The little rat was probably asleep already.

Remus though… James choked on the Chocolate Frog he had just put into his mouth suddenly as he realized that Remus was in the Prefect bathroom. With Tess. And that the two of them were alone.

James debated asking Sirius what it meant when the two dots appeared to be combined, and then decided against it. If it meant what it thought he did, then it would be better to keep that information out of Sirius' merciless hands.

James smiled and tapped the map with his wand. "Mischief managed," he said softly.

"Where are they?" asked a drowsy Sirius.

James laughed as he climbed into his four-poster bed. "Otherwise engaged, apparently."

* * *

Sirius Black stood in front of the river looking down. His hair had been combed and trimmed, as had his beard. He'd conjured up new clothes that were (in his unbiased opinion) really quite spiffing.

All in all, he thought as he straightened, he didn't look too bad. He still had some of his look of Azkaban about him, but one could pretend that he had suffered bereavement; highly possible given the uncertain nature of everything that surrounded the magical world at the present time.

He fished his new wand out of his pocket and held it in wonderment before himself. How long had it been since he possessed a wand that was his? Rolling it between his fingers quickly, he tucked it back into his pockets and started to walk towards Hogsmeade.

Having come to the conclusion that there was little Sirius could do for his younger self at the moment, he had decided to pretend that he was simply a normal wizard and get work, close by the school. Although he was qualified as an Auror, his reasons for applying for mere shop work were two fold. The first reason was that the Ministry would check out his background thoroughly should he apply as an Auror, and at the moment, he didn't have one.

The second reason was that if he were able to get a job close to Hogwarts, he could keep a subtle eye on his young self and friends, without them knowing it. In a lot of ways, posing as a normal wizard was less risky than posing as Padfoot. For starters, Padfoot's shape remained the same throughout time. He was recognizable as Padfoot, and remembering all the rules about time-contingency, it was dangerous for him to meet his younger self in any form.

The 'two Padfoot's' question would no doubt haunt them for a while. It had been a silly thing to do, but he couldn't let Tess die, nor could he allow Remus to bite someone. That was something that would have haunted Remus for the rest of his life.

Strangely enough, the two Padfoot's scenario rang a distant bell of déjà vu inside his mind, and he couldn't entirely place why. Dismissing the thought as he entered the village of Hogsmeade, Sirius entered the first store that he saw.

"Hello," he said, smiling charmingly at the owner behind the counter. "My name is James Evans. Are you looking to hire anyone?"

* * *

In a secluded manor, a tall fair woman sat genteelly on the porch surrounded by flowers and herbs of all shapes and sizes, for all different potions and ailments. Breathing deeply she closed her book and sighed, her index finger keeping place.

Closing her eyes wearily, she let the book slide off her lap and onto the ground. With her eyes closed, her face seemed younger than it was but around her eyes and mouth, thin lines betrayed her age.

An older man with silvering hair snuck up behind her. "_A chailín mo chro_," he said softly in her ear.

The woman's eyes flew open and she turned to see her intruder. "Ciaran Tierne! Don't you dare sneak up on me ever again," she said whilst laughing.

Ciaran laughed and with a strength belying his silvered hair scooped his lady up in his arms. "So, how have you been, _cocán róis_?" he asked, using his special term of endearment for his wife. Kissing her gently on the cheek, he then placed her on the ground.

Brushing his question aside with a careless hand, she looked up at him earnestly. "Did you see the Ministry? What were they concerned about?"

He looked down at his beautiful wife and the corners of his mouth tightened slightly. "Ach, I did. Apparently 'He' is after us."

"But…why?" she asked in a shocked tone of voice.

Ciaran shrugged, with a semi-hopeless expression flitting over his expression. "Who knows. I have raised the wards and strengthened them, which is all I can do for now. I'll add extra precautions tomorrow."

Rose nodded numbly. "And Meara? She's a child."

"She's gone to visit her friends," he replied sadly. "I don't want to risk her life, she's too young. When the wards have been strengthened, we'll bring her back. I asked Andrea if she wished to go as well, but she declined."

Rose continued to nod numbly, whilst tears began to well in her eyes. "How are we meant to explain this to Andrea? She of all people should leave!"

"We don't explain it," said Ciaran simply. "She might understand, but on the other hand, as she's a Muggle I prefer to leave her in the dark over this. What she doesn't know hopefully won't hurt her."

"No, it will torture her mercilessly and kill her instead," cried the woman, blue eyes burning. "What are you Ciaran? _Tá mé ar buille_? These are You-Know-Who's people, and she is a Muggle. What do you think will happen?"

Ciaran looked into his enraged wife's eyes and nodded once, sadly. "_Tá brón orm._ You are right." Then turning, he walked into the house.

Rose turned and collapsed down onto the chair she had sat on before her husband's arrival. _Voldemort, here? Why?_ She kept asking herself. She must have dozed off, because when she next opened them up she was looking into the bright blue eyes of a stranger.

A coil of dread opened up in her stomach. "Who are you?" she asked in the strongest voice she could manage.

The man smiled lazily and leant against the wall of the porch. "Why don't you stand up?" he asked in a would-be reasonable voice.

She opened her eyes fully and looked him over. Hair that was such a deep brown it seemed black was swept back in a ponytail, wearing black robes with a sword cinched around his waist.

Her face hardened as she stood. "You're a Death Eater."

The man laughed then. "Please, my lady. Don't insult me." His face hardened then too, with a wave of his hand he swept her against the wall of the house and heard a sickening crunch as her neck cracked.

She screamed loudly but the young man's face showed no emotion. "Surely you're not finished already?" he asked.

She didn't answer, but looked at him with eyes filled with anger and pain.

"I'll make this quick for you then," he offered, drawing his sword. Rose still didn't answer. At the corner of her eyes she saw Ciaran, who was opening his mouth to scream.

She never heard him.

* * *

The young man looked up from the old woman's corpse when he heard an anguished scream.

Turning, he saw a silvered hair man on his knees. "Ah… Ciaran, I presume?"

"_Go hifreann leat,_" growled the man through his tears, as he drew his wand. "I will send you there personally, whoever you are."

"Indeed?" queried the intruder. "This I look forward to seeing."

"_Cado cadere cecidi,_" yelled Ciaran.

The younger man smiled. _This_ was more like it. Apparating out of the way of the purple light heading towards him, he waved his hand towards the old man.

Somehow the man must have sensed his casting, as he turned and ducked out of the way.

"I'm moderately impressed," the young man informed Ciaran.

"_Eviscero!_" cried his opponent, causing him to duck quickly. "_Caedis!_" the young man continued to duck and weave as Ciaran cast spell after spell. All the while the young man's smile grew bigger and bigger.

Finally he spotted an opening, and directed his thoughts towards that spot. A blue flame sprouted from seemingly nowhere and hurtled towards the Ciaran. Ciaran turned a moment too late, and could only watch as the small flame buried itself inside him and grew in strength and speed.

The young man watched on feeling distant despite standing next to the dying man. He stood stock still and simply listened to the dying man's screams. When they finally halted, he knelt down beside the husk of Ciaran's body.

"Maybe you're right. Maybe one day someone will send me to hell. But it looks like it won't be you." The young wizard then laughed derisively. "Good as you were, not even you could send James Milton to hell without his consent."

Standing up from the body, he turned around just in time to meet an incoming vase wielded by a slight blonde woman. And then his world turned black.

* * *

**Author's Note:** James Milton is property of James Milamber, and is being used with said creator's permission. Now for more information, you'll absolutely have to go and read his story Harry Potter and the Mind Mage, won't you?

The language that Ciaran was speaking was Irish-Gaelic, and I've provided translations below

_A chailín mo chroí _my darling girl

_Cocán róis_ rosebud

_Tá mé ar buille_ crazy

_Tá brón orm_ I am sorry.

_Go hifreann leat _To hell with you.

**_Lady of the Dragons2: _**Anything can happen, this is fanfiction. And it does sort of make sense, as James Milton worked for both sides during the war.

**_Sweet 16 Movie Buff:_** I aim to please with my evilness… because admit it: it's more fun when the story contains evil than when it's just pure fluff. James could have been Rudolphus, except Rudolphus is semi-obsessed with Voldemort , and I can't really see him standing up to Voldemort. ;-) Still, all good, right?

**_The Follower:_** What do you suspect Edana of, hmm? Out with it!

**_Schnuff:_** The way I had it Death wasn't a God, just an entity. They judge everyone and send them to the equivalent of either heaven or hell (or in Sirius's case: a second chance). I could have made it so that he just fell straight through back into another time, but I preferred to explain it because it'll tie in later. Most of the seemingly pointless stuff I write has a reason for it being there.

**_PhiloNysh:_** Well, there will hopefully there will be many more conversations like that with Voldemort. James Milton is such an awesome character to write!

As always people, review and let me know how the story's going. Thanks!__


	9. When the Darkness Falls So Hard

**Sirius' Choice**

**Chapter Nine: When the Evening Falls**

_Whimsical Firefly_

**Author's Note:** This chapter should finally straighten a few things out. Not fully of course. I like to keep you people in suspense. But still.

This chapter is dedicated to one of my school mates, whose mother died recently, rather suddenly and unexpectedly. She'll probably never read this, but our thoughts are all with you, Chook.

**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter and all recognizable characters belong to J.K. Rowlings.

* * *

* * *

_Sirius sat sprawled out on one of the many lounges scattered throughout the Gryffindor common room. This had been his and Edana's couch. It wasn't official, it didn't have their name on it or anything like that. It just was._

_He'd lost count of the number of times they'd sat together here, listening to their friends talk, and yet not needing to join in. There were those few memorable occasions when they'd woken up together here, Edana in his arms._

_He sighed and nestled down into the couch. It still seemed strange that she was gone, and there were days when he woke up and it seemed unreal. He could distract himself by teasing and pranks and friends, but it was still always there at the back of his mind. _

_Ironic, really that he missed her so much. She'd come from a smaller inner city wizarding school, nowhere near as prestigious as Hogwarts, and lacking many of the facilities that they took for granted. Her school had been attacked and she was one of the few survivors._

_He had mistrusted her initially. It seemed strange that she had escaped when so many others had fallen. But everyone else adored her. Tess and Lily adopted her into their group of friends. Edana was given the Gryffindor prefect badge for seventh year. She got involved in their fights, proved her loyalty against the Slytherins, and bested him on a broom. She was remarkable, and he began to see why she could have escaped._

_She was special, in the way that she simply understood everything around her implicitly. In the way that she could smile and in the smile transmit so many feelings and thoughts._

_Sirius swallowed desperately. After awhile he had no choice but to trust her. He could do little else because of how we felt for her._

_A tear made it's way down his face and Sirius made no move to stop it. He continued to think of Edana, and the tears continued to flow until the portrait door swung open and a tall dark-haired witch stepped through. She hesitated upon the threshold when she saw the red-eyed Sirius sitting in the chair, but in the end came through and walked slowly towards him._

_"Are you…alright?" she asked him softly, resting a delicate hand on his shoulder._

_Sirius looked up at her and frowned. "What do you care?" he asked, and regretted the harsh tone of his voice. She was only being polite._

_"More than you think," she said with a ghost of a smile, and Sirius reluctantly returned it. "Do you remember a time when we were friends?" she asked, her voice still quiet._

_Sirius nodded. "Yeah, I do."_

_"Think of this as a throw-back to those times, then," she said before leaning in and kissing him on the cheek. She then stood up and left, leaving Sirius alone once more with thoughts of Edana and the past._

* * *

__

Sirius sat at the Gryffindor table that morning surrounded by his friends. Edana occupied her usual seat beside him and she seemed happier than usual, smiling and joking. Tess was sitting on Remus' lap, which was a new, if not unexpected development.

It was a perfectly ordinary morning until McGonagall hurried towards their group, with an anxious expression upon her face. "Miss Tierne?" she said crisply, gesturing outside. "I wish to speak to you before the morning owls arrive if you please."

Sirius watched as Edana stood and followed the formidable deputy headmistress outside and began to follow. "Black, sit down!" said McGonagall without turning around.

Sirius pulled a face, but sank back into his place. "What do you think that was about?" he asked with a frown.

Lily had a worried expression upon her face. "At a wild guess, her family was attacked. It makes no sense, but it's possible."

Sirius' face drained of colour, and he spent the next few minutes shooting anxious looks to the doors of the Great Hall and tapping his fingers against the table. He didn't notice that everyone else was doing similar things. When McGonagall finally re-entered the Hall, she was alone.

Sirius was the first one out of his seat, his long legs taking him quickly to where McGonagall was standing. He opened his mouth to speak but she beat him to it.

"She's outside Black. I daresay she could use some company."

Nodding, he strode towards the door. Looking up he saw the morning owls come swooping down with parcels for their respective owners. He hesitated slightly, and then continued out the door, and stopped, seeing no sign of Edana.

A reasonable part of Sirius that he hadn't realised existed before now mentioned that she would probably be in the dorms or the common room. Breaking into a run, Sirius began to race towards the Gryffindor tower.

As he did so, he crashed into a slight figure that was sobbing heavily. Pausing, Sirius pushed her long blonde locks off her face. "Edana?" he questioned softly.

"Go away Sirius," she replied in a dead voice that sounded nothing like the Edana he had grown to love.

Stepping closer, he wrapped his arms around her. "No. What happened?" It wasn't a question so much as a demand.

She struggled against him, but Sirius held fast. "Just let me go, NOW. Trust me, Sirius," she said, the dead tone of her voice being replaced with one of anger.

"No," he replied mulishly. "You're upset, and you're not thinking straight. I'm not letting you go just yet."

Edana's face darkened. "Fine!" she kneed him viciously, and with a gasp Sirius released her and doubled over. "Sorry Siri," she said, not at all repentant. "But I did ask you nicely. And now to make sure you don't follow me…"

Fishing her wand out of her robes, she pointed it directly at him, and put him in a full body-bind. Sirius looked up at her with large gray eyes that seemed to be angry, sad, confused, and betrayed all at once.

Edana snorted. He thought _he_ was betrayed? She turned and walked away without a second glance, leaving Sirius to watch helplessly as her black robes billowed out as she walked.

* * *

James watched Sirius walk out of the Great Hall. As he debated if he should follow him or not he grabbed a copy of the Daily Prophet, and his face paled as he read the headline: **_Terror Spreads!_**

He read further, his heart thudding and his throat tightening. The Tierne's had been attacked. The youngest girl was still alive and well, but very much heart-broken, and the cousin that had been staying with them was missing in action. Mysteriously, there was no Dark Mark, and the bodies had been left in the most gruesome way possible. He heard Lily's sharp intake of breath, and knew that she had begun reading over his shoulder

Naturally, the reporters were having a field day. Had the cousin killed them? Was there another Dark Lord on the rise?

With a look of revulsion on his face, James shoved the paper away and got up abruptly. "I'm going to go and see if I can help," he said when everyone else looked up from various copies of the Prophet. Lily nodded and stood, along with Remus, Tess and Peter.

"Us too," said Remus with a shrug. "Edana needs everyone at the moment."

As a group they walked out of the Great Hall and towards the Gryffindor Tower, without discussing it. It just seemed to be known: that was the direction that they had to be going.

Peter saw Sirius first, and pointed him out to everyone else. Lily performed the counter-curse, whilst James and Remus helped their friend up. "What happened? Was it a Slytherin?" asked Tess, a note of suspicion in her voice.

"Edana," answered Sirius wryly. Concern slipped into his voice, as he continued, "She didn't seem like herself, she was really…" Shaking his head and running a hand through his long hair he exhaled sharply.

"She's gone somewhere else, I think," he said eventually. "She wasn't heading towards the common room.

Tess nodded, and Remus walked over to the window. If he wasn't mistaken, there was a small figure in black robes running towards Hogsmeade. "Edana." he said aloud softly. Lily turned when she heard his voice and joined him at the window.

"Where is she going?" she asked no one softly.

Sirius looked at his inactive friends. "Like it matters? I'm following her, I have a feeling that she's going to do something rash."

* * *

Without waiting he strode ahead, his long legs taking him quickly out of their sights. James and Lily exchanged looks and then shrugging, began to follow him, as did Tess, Remus and Peter, hearts beginning to thud with nerves.

Edana, unaware that her friends were following her, was at this very moment running towards Hogsmeade, as fast as her legs would carry her. Tears blurred her vision, and she stumbled often over the bumps in the path that she was following.

Incoherent thoughts jostled for position in her head but she couldn't follow any of them properly.

_Dead, Mum, dead, Dad, betrayed, how, why, shouldn't have happened, couldn't have happened, it's a joke, why would she joke about this, revenge, make the bastard pay, why, how could he, mummy, no!!_

Images of her mother and father smiling and laughing before her seemed to be burned onto her eyelids, and the tears did nothing to blur the images.

Sobbing she crashed into an unsuspecting person. Big hands with large scars on them helped her up, and she looked briefly into gray eyes. She apologized and got up quickly, continuing on her escape. She heard him yell after her if she was alright in a voice that was familiar and yet not, but she dismissed it and kept running. _Soon_, her mind promised her, and she ran quicker.

Pointing her wand at herself, she Apparated into Muggle London. Hitting the ground with a thud, she cursed as she felt her knee scrape along the concrete. A pair of hands reached down as though to help her out. Swearing, she pushed the hands out of her way, and got to her feet. Ignoring the twinge of pain that ran through her knee, she continued to run.

She paused at a street intersection. Was it this way or…? With a shrug she turned and walked down one of the main streets. Looking up she read the sign as 'Viper Street'. A little voice inside her mind snickered and quietly thought how appropriate the name was. Shushing it, Edana continued down the street and paused at a run down motel.

The only thought in her mind now was centered on revenge, as she pushed open the door.

The desk attendant looked up as she walked in, and continued past him. "What… Excuse me, miss?" he asked loudly.

Edana turned towards him, blue eyes cold. Smiling sweetly she brandished her wand and pointed it at him. '_Stupefy!_' With an emotionless face she watched the young man fall to the floor, and then continued towards the back of the motel.

Coming to the last room, she pointed her wand at the door. "_Alohomora!_" The door swung open and she stepped inside, a dead feeling in her stomach spreading towards the rest of her body.

The man inside turned towards her. Voldemort. The most feared wizard alive. "Edana," he said with a cold smile. "What a pleasant surprise."

Edana looked up, her wand still pointing directly at him. "I'm afraid this will not be a cordial visit, Master."

* * *

* * *

**_Author's Note:_** And we'll end it there for now, otherwise the chapter becomes far too long. And now for the vital question… did anyone see that coming, and who would like to hazard a guess as to what will happen next?

**_Lunatic Pandora1:_** You know, when you say something like that people have no idea what the hell you're on about. The reason as to why it made no sense escapes me as it was reasonably straight forward. Just to refresh your memory: this is the story that has two (2) Sirius' in them. One normal, and one who got pushed into this time after he fell through the veil. The italics are memories from the older Sirius' time. Hope that helped… If not, tell me what's got you in a twist so I can fix it.

**_Pdlegirl:_** Lol, I missed you! And it's okay, because it has been awhile since this was updated. I'm glad you think this is going well… I freaked myself out the other day when I realised how long this would end up.

**_Sweet 16 Movie Buff:_** Well, if you insist I carry on with my evilness…

**_Lady of the Dragons2:The_** dilemmas will appear shortly… ish. The older Sirius really comes into it after they graduate, which is in four-six chapters. Something to look forward to, I guess. And it is good being right, isn't it? ::grins::

_Okay people: review and let me know how it's all going, I'd love to hear from you!_


	10. On Guard

**Sirius' Choice**

**Chapter Ten: On Guard**

_Whimsical Firefly_

**Author's Note:** I've never had such an overwhelming response to a chapter before, thanks to all that reviewed… I should do evil cliffies like that more often.

And a thanks to James for being such a patient editor, as well as for plugging Sirius' Choice shamelessly… So while I'm at it, go and read Harry Potter and the Mind Mage already.

**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter and all recognizable characters are property of J.K. Rowling.

* * *

_The man inside turned towards her. Voldemort. The most feared wizard in the entire universe. "Edana," he said with a cold smile. "What a … pleasant … surprise."_

_Edana looked up, her wand still pointing directly at him. "I'm afraid this will not be a cordial visit, Master."_

__

* * *

__

__

Lily strained to keep with the pace that Sirius had been setting. Had any of them been feeling more logical, she would have mentioned that perhaps they bring broomsticks, so they could travel more quickly, and possibly that James' invisibility cloak would have come in handy.

However, they hadn't, so that left her running along behind everyone else. Her one consolation was that she was beating Peter. Not that that was much of a consolation.

She slowed as she saw Sirius stop to speak to a tall, dark-haired man standing outside the Three Broomsticks. Something about him was vaguely familiar, but she was too busy catching her breath to ponder on it.

Sirius' voice was harsh as he talked to the older man, and the other man's responses were given in a soft velvet voice.

"I'm afraid I can't be more help than that," he was saying, shaking his head. "She Disapparated as soon as she was clear of the anti-apparition borders."

James and Sirius both started swearing, and Lily realized that the man's gray eyes were watching them with an almost wistful expression.

Sirius' expression was stormy. "Now what?" he demanded. No one answered, everyone instead surveyed the ground. "Now fucking what?"

"Well, I would suggest following her, myself," came the quiet voice of Albus Dumbledore. His expression bordered on dangerous, but there was still an irreverent twinkle in his eye

Sirius turned slowly to look him in the eye. "You know where she went?"

"Only a suspicion, but it is a good one. I shall give you the co-ordinates in your mind. What you choose to do after that is your own choices, as everything else is as well."

An image of a sign reading Viper Street, surrounded by people, noise and smog appeared in everyone's minds before fading.

"See you there," said Dumbledore with a quick smile before Disapparating with a _pop_.

All six teens exchanged glances. "I'm… I'm staying guys," said Peter in a barely audible voice. Lily saw James and Sirius shoot Peter almost identical looks of pure loathing.

Lily stepped in front of him with her wand out. "Everyone else?" she asked, her voice surprisingly steady. "On the count of three. One, two, three."

All of a sudden Peter was left standing alone outside the Three Broomsticks, with a stranger by his side. The older man clapped him on the shoulder once, and then turned away completely.

* * *

Edana's blue eyes never wavered as she stepped closer. The only thing that betrayed her emotions was her voice.

"You lying, cheating _bastard_!!!!!" she said in a quietly shaking voice.

Voldemort simply laughed. "Those adjectives mean nothing to me, Edana my dear. If anything, I could even consider them a compliment."

Edana didn't answer, but continued speaking. "You_ said_ that once I joined, my family would be _safe_. You gave your word. It was the _only_ reason I joined you and your God-forsaken bunch in the first place."

Voldemort maintained eye contact and smirked. With a flick of his wand her wand attempted to leave her hand, but she resisted, gripping the slender rod as tightly as she could. "Damn you to hell, you son-of-a-bitch!"

If any onlookers had been asked later on, it would have been hard to tell who cast the first curse. Voldemort and Edana both had their wands drawn and seemed to utter them simultaneously.

Neither curse reached its mark. Voldemort cast a shield, and Edana rolled under a chair and ducked it.

Spells were flying thick and fast. Edana's brain fumbled as it thought about how to go about attacking and defending. She relied more on the quick reflexes that made her an admirable Quidditch player, ducking rolling and weaving. A spell came to her and she cast it quickly.

_"Caesus!"_ she screamed from under whichever piece of furniture she was currently hiding under - she had moved around so much, she was no longer exactly sure.

Voldemort let out a yell, and clapped a hand to his eyes. Exhaling quickly, she turned and ran to the door, tripping as she did so. Something snapped as she landed, and with a sickened feeling, she looked down to see her wand below her snapped in half.

Just make it to the door, and then you can leave. He can't see you; it'll be an easy escape. She kept repeating it over and over to herself as a mantra. Picking herself back up she stumbled towards the door, hand outstretched.

She heard Voldemort yell from behind her "_Colloportus_". With a sinking heart she reached out and attempted to open the door, just in case his spell had missed.

It hadn't. She was trapped inside.

Panicking, she turned back around. Voldemort was still incapable of seeing her, but the spell would wear off soon. She was wandless, and she was trapped. Bearing that in mind she did the only thing her panicked rain could think of.

She hid.

She heard footsteps, and then Voldemort's chilling voice. "Edana, dear. You will pay for that."

Willing her heart to beat quieter, she didn't answer or respond.

"We have tried this before, you remember. It wasn't a success then, either," Voldemort's voice sounded amused, and Edana's eyes closed themselves tightly. She felt like a rabbit in a trap, waiting for the hunter to kill it, wanting to get away but unable to, and utterly helpless. Very much like the first time she had met him.

- - -

_Pressing herself into the darkness, she heard the cry of "Kill them. Kill them all!" from the hooded and cloaked figure. At once, dozens of people, similarly dressed came forward and swarmed through the corridors._

_Screams echoed off the high ceilings, and people ran in every direction. Flashes of green light mirrored and clashed and blended until it seemed the entire area was glowing green._

_"This area is clear, my Lord." came a chilling voice that seemed familiar to the girl._

_"Excellent. But there are more, are there not? Keep killing the Mudbloods…those who are pure, offer them a chance to join us. If they refuse, you may have some fun with them." The hooded figure laughed. "I do not think that there will be many who will refuse."_

_"Yes, my Lord." The others bowed and left. Screams mingled with yells of "_Crucio!_" and "_Avada Kedavra!_", and travelled through the empty hallways._

_The lone figure that had been called 'Lord' stood for a while, surveying the bodies strewn around him. Lifting up his hands he removed his hood to reveal a face that could have once been handsome, but his cold eyes and the cruel twist to his mouth betray him now._

_She prayed to whomever might be listening that he would not see her, but it appeared that the fates had a cruel sense of humour. He turned directly to where she was curled up in the shadows, his cold eyes piercing her only protection. Against her will she stepped out of the cover of darkness and into his line of vision._

_"Hiding, were we?" he asked with a humourless smile._

_She shook a blonde head._

_"Are you pureblood?" _

_She nodded, not entirely trusting herself to speak._

_"Then join me."_

_The desire to say yes nearly overwhelmed her, but she looks down to see her friend's body. Her resolve hardened and she managed to say no._

_The figure walked closer, until he was standing just before her. "Join. Otherwise your parents and your sister will die… Edana Tierne."_

_She had been carefully surveying the bloodied wooden floors until he had said her name. How did he know? How could he know?_

_"I came specially here for you, you know?" the man's voice was only slightly louder than a whisper, caressing and loving. "Just for you. You are special"_

_She looked into the man's icy eyes and tried to see beyond what was there. She couldn't._

_A scream echoed off the walls vibrantly, and she turned to see a girl being killed, painfully. Shuddering she turned back and saw a wand level with her neck._

_"Join me, or your family will die, and then you. I might even make you kill them yourself under_ _the_ _Imperious Curse. How does that sound?"_

Seeing no other option, the girl finally nodded acquiescence.

- - -

Just like before, her mind whispered. She hadn't had her wand with her that time either. She looked up through the crack of where she was hiding just in time to see a red light blaze towards her.

With a scream, she pushed herself out of the way, and tumbled out into the clear view of Voldemort.

* * *

James Milton opened his eyes groggily, and wondered vaguely where he was. A strand of hair ran over his eyes and with annoyance he reached up to brush it away. For some strange reason he wasn't able to do so.

Peering down, he saw the reason was that his hands had been tied up rather securely with ropes. _Somewhat medieval_, he grinned to himself, _but doable_. Gathering his magic, he attempted to unravel them, with no success. With a sigh he realised that they were probably magically binding ropes. Whilst he'd be able to wear them down eventually, he was stuck for now.

Which still left him with the problem of that damn hair!

His groggy mind finally caught up with him and he realised that even though he couldn't untie himself with magic, he could at least brush the hair out of his eyes with magic. A small whirlwind appeared out of nowhere and brushed the offending hairs away.

_Much better_, he thought. _Now, where the bloody hell am I?_

With a flash it came back to him. That blonde wench had knocked him out, and after that it was anyone's guess. Snarling, he turned slightly against his bonds, and realized he could just see his assailant from the corner of his eyes.

Slight, blonde, pale smattering of freckles over an elegant nose, delicately curved lips that hinted towards vulnerability, and a stubborn chin. She seemed vaguely familiar to him, although he wasn't sure why. A slight smile flitted over his mouth without his awareness as he watched the chit sleep.

He continued to watch her, although his thoughts drifted. He wondered what Tommy would have to say given that he hadn't cast the Dark Mark over the Tierne's house. He hadn't really had a chance to, he thought with a rueful snort.

He'd been supposed to meet with Dumbledore sometime this week. Technically speaking James worked for both sides, and was loyal to none. He respected Dumbledore's power, but thought he was something of a fool. On the other hand, he despised Voldemort, yet could not deny that the war was currently was leveled in his favour.

With a sigh, James wriggled in an attempt to find a more comfortable position, and in doing so the young woman sitting in the chair opened vivid gray-blue eyes.

"So you're awake, murderer," she said coolly.

After a moment's thought James decided it was best to at least pretend to be civil. Craning his neck so he could look at her properly, he smirked. "Apparently. Care to tell me where we are?"

A slim eyebrow raised and then lowered. "I should have thought that obvious, murderer. Or perhaps you murder because you have little aptitude and intelligence for anything else. We're in hiding."

"Really?"

"Mmm."

"Why are you in hiding?" he asked with genuine curiosity.

She shot him a dark look but didn't answer, instead choosing to observe the wall opposite.

"How about untying me?" he asked, positive that he would not get his request.

"How about telling me how you killed my aunt and uncle?" she countered. "And while you're at it, why."

James gave her an incredulous look. "I killed them because they were on Voldemort's hit list." He received no reaction to Voldemort's name. His mind ticked quickly. So either she had no fear of Voldemort, or…

"Who on Earth is Volde..whoever?"

Or she had no idea in hell of who he was. Of course. "Do you know of anything in the magic world?"

"If you're going to talk nonsense, I won't keep you."

"Your uncle at least was magic," persisted James. "Your aunt… well, she was so weak she might as well have been a Muggle," he said callously. "But she was magic as well."

It got a reaction from her in any case. A gun was drawn and pressed into his throat. "Don't you _dare_ talk about her like that. Don't you dare befoul their names, you… you…"

Evidently she was unable to find an adjective that was evil enough to describe him, because she finished there, and simply held the gun to his throat.

With a careless flick of two fingers that were tied up, the gun went flying. James sat up gingerly, with much effort and looked up at the female's stunned face. Her face then resumed a slight look of pointlessness.

"If you really want to be free, then you might as well kill me. You're magic, you can," she said wearily, sinking to the floor.

She had a point. Gathering up his magic, he began to cast a spell that would no doubt be fatal and very painful. The thing was…

The thing was he couldn't put any of his will into it. He saw no need to kill her, and some strange part of him didn't want to. Rather than admit this to her however, he instead asked why she would want to be killed.

"Because the police think I killed my aunt and uncle. I was the only one there, they don't know about you. It's all over the tabloids," she said with a disgusted tone of voice.

James nodded, considering all his options. On the one hand, he could break free, and be on his way, although Voldemort's henchmen would soon be after him for not doing the job completely. Not that that would cause him problems. On the other hand, he could break free and go to Voldemort himself. On another hand entirely, he could simply ask to be set free. On a different hand again, he could stay with her and help her out. He had to restrain himself from snorting derisively at the very thought. Then again…__

Feeling his anger stirring, he looked at her. It would be so easy to kill her. But he couldn't do it – _or at least_, his mind whispered, _he couldn't do it_ yet.

"I'd take you straight to the police," she grumbled. "But I have no…proof of what you did, except my word. And that's _very_ believable just at this moment."

James nodded, still considering. "What if I were to help you?" he heard himself asking distantly.

The look she gave him was pure venom. "You? As though I'd trust you not to kill me?"

"I haven't yet."

With a sardonic smile she nodded. "I'm sure. Don't worry, you're staying. And you are staying tied up."

With that she stalked out of the room. And with nothing resolved, James sank back onto the seat, and set his mind to the task of breaking the magical bonds in the rope.

* * *

Looking around wildly, Edana took shelter behind an old oak desk as another spell came flying in her direction.

"So there you are, 'Dana. You really must choose cleverer hiding spaces," chided Voldemort.

Another curse flew her way and she took refuge behind a chair. Her brain kept up a steady mantra along the lines of _I am so dead, I am so dead, I'm trapped, I am so dead, I need a wand, I am so dead, oh crap, missed, I am so dead…_

Finally it got to the stage where there was nothing left to hide behind, as curses had shattered them. She closed her eyes and waited for the killing curse to come. There was no use in fighting.

But the killing curse didn't come. Instead, Voldemort's voice sounded silkily in her ears. "Now really Edana. Does it have to be like this?"

A slight whimper escaped her lips, but she said nothing.

"You could stay. There is still your sister to think about… the lovely Meara. Your cousin. All your friends."

Edana's mind flashed to Mrs. and Mr. Potter lying dead in their homes, Tess' face when she said how her entire family had been wiped out.

Opening her eyes once more, she choked out, "They don't seem to be faring that well even with me joined to you."

Voldemort threw back his head and laughed. "Always honest, aren't you Edana?" he asked mockingly. "Never mind," he said as he advanced with his wand outstretched. "I'll send someone to take care of Meara later tonight."

Edana's blue eyes opened wildly in shock. "What?"

Time seemed to freeze as she screamed and charged towards Voldemort with her bare hands. Windows cracked and broke, anything fragile that had so far remained whole shattered, and fragments of furniture rose from the ground and flew towards Voldemort, the harmless broken furniture now dangerous missiles.

Voldemort threw her across the room and landed with a thud. "You see?" he asked delightedly. "_This_, Edana, is what you are capable of. You could do anything with that raw power."

Edana remained silent bar the occasional quiet sob.

"Stay with me. Together, we could be… so strong. No one could stand up to us. They would perish and fall."

Edana looked at him and instead of seeing the Master that she had served and spied for mostly willingly, she saw only a monster.

And the only thing on her mind was killing him.

Launching herself at him once more, she tried to raise the furniture to impale him. He might well be invincible, but no-one could live after a foot-long wooden pole was plunged through their body.

Voldemort threw her down again. "I'll take that as a no. It's a pity, but I cannot allow one such as yourself to live if you do not stay on my side. _AVADA KEDAVRA!_"

And the killing curse she had come for finally hit her.

* * *

Lily, James, Sirius, Remus and Tess Apparated into Muggle London and James looked around with interest.

"Ah…has it occurred to anyone else that we might look a trifle strange in wizarding robes?" said Remus cautiously.

"Who cares about the robes?" snapped Sirius. "We're here to get Edana and bring her back. Now where's Dumbledore?"

"Right here," came a voice behind Sirius, and James snorted as for the second time that day his friend was startled by the Headmaster.

He turned as he heard Lily's voice enquire as to what next, and despite the fear that roiled around in his stomach he couldn't help but smile at his girlfriend.

"Now we go to where Voldemort is," said Dumbledore simply. "If Edana is alive we will rescue her and if…"

"What do you mean '_if_'?" cried Sirius, and James had to admit that he was somewhat on his friend's side.

Tess' lilting voice spoke up behind him, and James turned. "Why don't we just follow you, Headmaster? If you have any further instructions, we'll listen, but time's wasting."

Dumbledore nodded gracefully. "As you say, Miss Loydell. I ask only that you are all exceedingly careful. Should you wish, it is not too late to go back to Hogsmeade. All those who wish to, follow me." His piercing blue eyes looked at each teenager in turn and then strode down Viper street.

They all followed. It wasn't discussed, they didn't need to. Watching as Dumbledore walked ahead, James couldn't help but snort as Remus' earlier comment. He wondered how much Dumbledore stood out with his dark violet robes, embroidered with twinkling stars, and a tall pointed wizarding hat of the same fabric, and then snorted.

Only his mind would think of something as harebrained as that when they were about to meet with Voldemort. Ignoring Lily's enquiring look, he carried on behind the Headmaster until they stopped in front of a run down motel.

Dumbledore looked behind him and with a nod they entered. The desk tender lay unconscious a few feet away. Dumbledore nodded slightly and then continued up the hall.

James continued to follow behind until they stopped at one door. Voices could be heard behind it

"…would perish and fall," came a chilling voice that was surely Voldemort. If one listened carefully, sobbing could be heard in the background.

"_Alohomora_" whispered Dumbledore. The door stayed tightly closed, and James saw Sirius's eyes take on a wild edge.

"There has to be someway of opening the door!" hissed Sirius, but James and the others only heard Voldemort say something else quietly, and then scream the killing curse.

James had his eyes closed so he didn't see Sirius's face drain of colour. He did, however, hear Sirius scream the blasting curse, and he opened his eyes just in time to see the door fold in on itself.

* * *

Sirius heard Voldemort utter the killing curse and knew what it meant. Edana was dead. The only thing left on his mind now was to make that bastard pay dearly, and with that in mind he grabbed his wand and screamed the only spell that came to mind.

He watched with satisfaction as the door collapsed and went to step forward. A hand on his own stopped him.

"Are you crazy?" demanded James. "He's still in there, it isn't safe."

Sirius glared into his friends hazel eyes, but couldn't deny the truth of that statement. Instead he watched as Dumbledore stepped into the room.

Sirius felt himself give a sharp intake of breath as he saw the change in the power around them. The air seemed to positively glow with raw power, and with a quick glance around at his friends, they all fell into step behind Dumbledore.

Voldemort was ready and waiting for them. "Do you now send children to do your work for you, Dumbledore?"

"They chose to come of their own accord," answered Dumbledore evenly.

Sirius' eyes searched the room, until they landed on Edana's body. Her hair was mattered, and there were bruises on her face, as well as a few cuts and lacerations.

"You killed her," stated Sirius in a would-be calm voice that fooled none of his friends, least of all James.

Voldemort's chilling gaze fell on Sirius as he played with his wand. "Ah, the boyfriend. She was mine to do with as I pleased. When she no longer pleased me, I…disposed of her."

Sirius paled as he understood the meaning behind those words all too clearly. "You lie," he growled.

Voldemort gave him an amused glance. "I never lie, young Black."

"Oh really?" rang out Lily's voice. "I have heard you declare yourself to be the greatest wizard of all time, and that's a falsehood if I ever heard one."

Later, Lily would wonder at her bravado, but there and then, those were the exact words needed to break the stalemate. Voldemort's face darkened, and he pointed his wand directly at Lily.

Sirius felt, rather than saw James move from his side and lunge towards Lily, just like he felt, rather than saw Tess and Remus beginning to fire curses and hexes at Voldemort.

Spotting an opening, Sirius ran towards Edana and knelt beside her. Brushing the strands of blonde hair back from her face, he picked her up in her arms gently. She might be dead, but he would bring her back with him.

He wasn't aware that Voldemort had seen him until he heard his voice. "I did tell the truth Black. All the while she was sleeping with you, she also did her duties for me."

There was a deliberate pause, before he whispered. "Willingly."

Sirius shook his head in denial, and turned to Dumbledore. But instead of seeing denial on the wise old headmasters face, he instead saw sadness.

"How else do you think she knew where to find me?" queried Voldemort with a laugh, before throwing another round of curses at his friends.

Sirius closed his eyes as he realized the truth. Looking at Edana's face, his heart hardened, and he put her back down again. Before he could do anything however, a spell was cast that seemed to freeze time itself.

He looked to see Tess and Remus looking pale and drawn, clasping their wands together in a double clasp.

"An exemplary spell, I hold myself most impressed," said Dumbledore with a twinkle in his eyes. Tess and Remus both looked vaguely pleased, although still exhausted. "How long will it last?"

Tess and Remus exchanged glances, but in the end Remus spoke. "We aren't sure. We weren't even sure if it would work to start with, it was two spells we'd been teaching ourselves for NEWTS combined."

Dumbledore nodded. "If that is the case, then all haste must be assured. Sirius if you would take Edana?"

Sirius shook his head, his gray eyes hard. "No. She should be left here to rot," and with that he stormed from the room.

He heard someone say "_Mobilicorpus_", and thought it was probably James. In the end it made no difference, as he had meant what he had said.

A stray tear made it's way down his face. How could he have been so stupid not to see all the signs? The midnight meetings, the secrecy. All the times that she'd cried upon hearing of a Death Eater attack, she was probably just jealous she'd missed out on the action.

Swearing, he kicked a stone across the road, and heard a polite cough behind him, and turned to see Remus. "We're going," he said softly.

Nodding, he turned and followed. It had probably been less than half-an-hour since they had left school, but it felt like it had been several days at least.

* * *

Sirius Black waited anxiously at The Three Broomsticks, shooting frequent looks out the window.

He had been nervous when he had spoken to his younger self and friends earlier, but they didn't seem to suspect anything. Or possibly they had been too worried about Edana to think clearly.

His eyes closed as he thought of Edana. She had been breathtaking that morning, despite her tears. She still made his heart beat faster, and he berated himself for being a dirty old man. He was so much older than her now. Sometimes he wondered if he had dreamed being that young.

He cast another anxious glance out the window, and was rewarded by seeing a crowd materialize out of thin air. Everyone seemed fine, although Remus and Tess looked drawn and pale. He gasped when Dumbledore Apparated with James and Edana.

Edana was lowered to the ground carefully, and James swayed alarmingly. Dumbledore put a bracing hand on his shoulder and James straightened again.

Pausing, Sirius looked around and then took his apron off and left the bar. He crossed the distance between him and the weary little group quickly.

"Do you need any help?" he asked softly, and looked down at Edana's still face.

Dumbledore looked piercingly at him. "Assistance would be greatly appreciated, Mr. … Evans."

Sirius looked down at her face. "What happened to the girl, sir?" he asked in a would-be calm voice.

Dumbledore paused, then said "She fell on the wrong side of her Master."

Sirius looked at him astonishment, then kneeled before the still girl. Rolling up the sleeve of her left arm, he looked at the pale skin.

Sure enough, the Dark Mark was burned just below her elbow. Sirius kept his face emotionless as he looked into her face.

Had she been following Voldemort the first time around? It was a possibility, she never took her shirt off around him, and had often gone away in secret. Still emotionless, Sirius closed his eyes. In the end actions spoke louder than words; she had sacrificed herself for him, so even though she may have served him it may not have been willingly.

Whispering a blessing, he forgave whatever it was she had done, and scooped her up in his arms.

And although Sirius Black was not aware of it, somewhere in the universe a knot of darkness unraveled.

* * *

**Authors Note:** _IMPORTANT!_ My end of semester exams (end of year, actually. Go Australia!) start next week, so things are going to be slightly hectic, don't expect another update until around the 26th November. Sorry guys, you've all been such legends about this story that I feel bad about doing that, but I've made it so it answered most questions, and it's hopefully it's not an evil cliffie like last chapter.

**Midnite Marauder:** Very cool name, b.t.w. A good question, but the attack with approximately two hundred being killed happened in both timelines. The way I have it is so that most things go the same until something happened that had required Edana to be there, in which case it changed. James Milton IS a borrowed OC, and details of his past (as well as the-girl-who-knocked-him-out-but-for-now-shall-remain-nameless-and-mysterious) will be forthcoming in further chapters. One of those wait and see kinda things, I guess.

**Lady of the Dragons2:** Sorry about that… I'm glad that you liked Edana, but that's the way it goes. I suppose it isn't much consolation if I tell you that that's been planned from the beginning?

**SilkieDarkKestral:** The whole thing hasn't been explained fully yet, but don't worry, it will be. I don't like putting who's P.O.V. it is before a segment because it sort of disturbs the flow of the story. Usually though, I figure it becomes clear who the segment is mainly on within a few paragraphs, so I usually don't worry about it.

**Soleil Luna:** …Mate? Stop reading my mind already.

**Sweet 16 Movie Buff:** Anytime. I'm glad you didn't see it coming, because it was definitely meant to be a surprise (although there were hints placed throughout the story as early as chapter three). Hope this was soon enough for you!

**_Remember to review and let me know how the story is going so far. Thanks guys!_**


	11. Shine Until Tomorrow

** Sirius' Choice**

**Chapter Eleven: Shine Until Tomorrow**

_Whimsical Firefly_

**Author's Note:** This is another chapter that carries the mixed timeline all the way through. So remember… italics is equivalent to what happened the first time round, normal is equivalent to this time around.

Many thanks to James Milamber for his wonderful editing job.

**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter and all recognizable characters are property of J.K. Rowling

* * *

_Sirius watched with sad eyes as the rain poured down, and lightning streaked through the skies. The Quidditch pitch was flooded, and at least five new streams had been created to deal with the downpour. Sirius stood at the window of the Owlery and simply watched it fall, enjoying the clean scent of the rain._

_NEWTS had been and gone, and school would be finishing so soon that it seemed surreal. Seven years at Hogwarts, and what had it come to? In his mind some of the most important lessons he had learned were out of the classroom, on the Quidditch pitch and in the holidays with his friends. Lessons of honour, bravery, loyalty._

_Everything that made him a true Gryffindor, and not a Slytherin like the rest of his family._

_His journey to the Owlery had actually come with a purpose. Reaching into his robes he drew out a parchment, and unrolled it slowly. He knew the words from memory now. A letter to Edana, written after she died._

_Leaning his tall and lanky frame out of the window, he held the parchment flat in the rain, and watched as the ink blurred and spread over the page, and eventually disappeared altogether._

_

* * *

_

Sirius watched the dripping parchment with a grim satisfaction. A love letter to Edana. He had wanted to burn it, but had then decided that this was the easier of the two alternatives.

A soft click on the pavement in front of him alerted himself to company. "What in Merlin's name are you doing?" The voice was cool, feminine and far too familiar for Sirius' liking.

"Why Amanda, how are you? I myself was well until you showed up," he said in a bitter tone. Sirius watched the flash of hurt within her blue eyes with satisfaction. "Perhaps the question should be, 'what are you doing here?'. I somehow doubt you intended to owl a letter."

Amanda stiffened slightly. "The others were worried about your whereabouts, although personally I don't know why they simply didn't start celebrating." The large blue eyes burned with anger, and something Sirius couldn't identify. "I volunteered to come up here and look for you."

Sirius nodded mockingly, and then remembered his damp parchment. Casting a quick charm to dry it off he then looked back up at her. "How self-sacrificing. You can now go back and tell them that you found me, and I will be down later." When she appeared to hesitate, Sirius drew himself up to full height. "Amanda, just go," he ordered, gray eyes blazing.

Drawing herself up to full height, she glared at him. "Don't worry, I'm going. I'll be glad to." With that, she turned abruptly and ran down the stairs.

Sirius watched her depart with little guilt. A tiny part of himself chided, _'you could have been nicer, you know. She was only checking. Besides, when you broke up with her you had promised…'_ Swearing at the minute voice, Sirius looked at the parchment in his hands and then crumpled it up and threw it out the window.

He stood still for a few moments, and then turned to exit the same way that Amanda had gone two minutes earlier.

* * *

_Tess swayed slightly, and Remus caught her by the shoulders and steadied her. Unused to the amount of Firewhiskey that James and Sirius had procured, she was now well and truly schnackered. He watched as James stood up on a tabletop, and raised his glass in the air._

_"My friends!" said James, who sounded only slightly drunk. "Tomorrow we graduate, hopefully with no memory at all of tonight." The assorted Gryffindors in the room laughed and cheered at the statement and raised their glasses in turn. "We've spent nearly seven years in this place, and I have to say that the best lessons that I've learned have not been thanks to the teachers, but rather amongst you all. My friends."_

_James paused, and when Remus looked around he saw through a bleary haze that some of his fellow students were looking slightly misty eyed. "We've taught each other many hexes, and practiced on each other too," continued James_

_Someone in the back called out, "We've also practiced on the Slytherins!" Another chuckle spread throughout the room, and James nodded gravely. "Them too."_

_"We've learnt teamwork on the Quidditch pitch and against the Slytherins in the hall. We have loved, lived, breathed, slept, eaten, completed last minute assessments one way or another, and even danced in this castle for the past seven years."_

_Remus looked up at James and saw that this James' eyes looking overly bright. James voice was soft as he finished his speech. "For that, I thank you all. I hope you continue to remain friends outside Hogwarts, even if our interests may vary." Raising a muscled arm, he held up his glass. "Cheers, everyone!"_

_The gesture was echoed by everyone in the room, and Remus felt a slight twisting in his stomach. When they left… what would happen? How many of his friends would fall to Voldemort one way or another? Everything was so topsy-turvy, he wished there was a way of just making it safe, and certain._

_

* * *

_

Sirius held up his glass and downed it's contents. Feeling someone move beside him, he moved over slightly to the left to make room for them. Although James' speech had been moving, he was unmoved to the extreme. He sat still and silent as Lily got up to make her speech and ignored her. What did she know anyway, he thought as he snorted derisively at her speech about standards and love, and dropping them.

Or maybe it was about keeping them.

No matter. The words about true love were meaningless as they swept over him, leaving no evidence of their passing. Swearing, he pushed himself up and off the seat he was sitting on. Not doing anything had never suited him, and the entire graduation halo had been soured for him since Edana's death. _Edana's betrayal, _his mind whispered.

Slipping unnoticed out of their door, he raced down the stairways to the Room of Requirement. People had attempted to talk to him about Edana since she was murdered (or should that be suicided?), but he found the entire thing completely pointless. What was there to talk about? The only thing that helped him to deal with it was what he was going to do now.

Entering the room, he found an empty classroom. Transfiguring the desks, he whispered _'vividus oppognatus'_. The desks began to move towards him slowly.

Flicking his wand in a joined five star movement, the desks began to fire spells at him. They were only basic attack spells, as he hadn't worked out how to increase the moving dummies spell repartee, but they were nonetheless effective if he was hit by five stunners at once.

The thing about the skill practice as he was beginning to call it, was that it distracted him. His mind was taken up by dodging, attacking, defending, that his mind was unable to think about anything. _Least of all Edana._

_

* * *

_

_Tess couldn't understand why Remus thought that she was drunk. She wasn't, of that she was quite certain. Sure, the room seemed to spin slightly every now and then, but the things that mattered were still ferpectly… perfectly in focus._

_Alright, maybe she was slightly tipsy. But still, she knew exactly what she was doing. Giving a quick smile at Amanda who was warily approaching Sirius, she took Remus' hand and began to lead him out of the Common Room._

_"Um… Tess? Where are we going?" questioned Remus in her ear._

_Tess gave him a look that was pure wide-eyed innocence. "We're going for a walk."_

_Remus nodded, not looking at all reassured. However, he continued to follow Tess through the empty halls of Hogwarts. Possibly because he wanted to go with her. Possibly because he was concerned that she was too drunk. Possibly because he was sick of the party and this was the best alternative._

_It didn't really matter to Tess, so long as he continued to follow her._

_In no time at all, they were outside Hogwarts, standing near the lake. It was here that Tess stopped Remus and stood still. Remus was before her, a tall slim figure, with golden eyes that seemed to glow despite the darkness. "So…" she heard him whisper into the darkness with a slight grin that showed in the light of the new moon._

_Tess opened her mouth to say something. But what was it that she had meant to say? It was…there were many things she wanted to say, but she wasn't sure how to say any of them. So, she took the easier of the two options, and simply reached up and kissed him._

_Feeling Remus relax and put his arms around her to draw her closer she relaxed into his touch._

_

* * *

_

Remus reached out and drew her closer to him, and he felt her body relax into his. _Careful_, he cautioned himself. _She's drunk, she might try and take this further than she really wants too_.

When her hands reached up and began to undo his buttons, he wasn't able to stop her though. Instead he took small hands into his and drew her closer, skin touching skin. As he did so, a burning at his chest made him recoil in pain. Looking down, he saw a raised welt of skin, red and painful.

Dismayed, he looked at Tess, whose robes had fallen of her shoulders enough to reveal a small silver ornament hanging around her throat.

"Remus… are you okay?" she asked hesitantly. Remus looked at her uncomprehendingly.

"Where did you get that?" his voice sounding harsher than he'd meant it to be.

Tess looked at him with puzzled violet eyes. "It was Edana's silver dagger. She knew I liked it, and gave it to me a few days before… everything happened. Sometimes I think she planned her death."

Remus face was still closed. "How could she have planned to die like that?" a small shake appeared in his voice, that revealed how he felt about that issue.

Tess shrugged. "I don't know. But sometimes I think… she did. In any case, it's a canny little dagger. I wasn't going to wear it, but then…" Tess took a deep breath. "I can't help but remembering all the good things. So I wear it now."

Pleading violet eyes looked up at Remus, and Remus felt rather than saw her move closer to him to resume where they had left off. He backed away, feeling the burning heat that the silver dagger was radiating.

"Tess, I have to go," he mumbled, before moving out from under her and heading towards the castle. He could feel curious eyes boring into his back but she didn't follow him. _Just great Remus_, he berated himself._ She'll know now. And she won't even want to look at you when she finds out you're a werewolf._

Running a frustrated hand through messy light brown hair he walked as a man condemned back up to the Gryffindor common room.

* * *

_Lily sat in James' lap running her hand through his hair, which was consequently standing up on ends even more so than usual. The party was winding down around them, and out of the corner of her eye she could see Amanda and Sirius talking in hushed tones. At least they didn't seem to be fighting._

_She pointed the two out to James who turned to look, nuzzling her shoulder in the process. "I'm glad," he said in her ear simply. "It was strange when they were on the outs with each other." With a sly glance at Lily he added, "And they make such a good couple."_

_Lily shot a withering look at him. "As good as Edana and Sirius?"_

_Pausing before answering, he said "Maybe, maybe not. But the fact remains that Amanda is here and Edana is not." Judging by the outraged look on Lily's face he had said the wrong thing, and hastily began to apologize and justify his statement._

_"Are you saying that if I was to die," she ignored the hasty denials of such a thing ever happening, and the way James arms tightened convulsively around her waist as though to prevent any harm from ever happening, "you'd simply go for the next available female?"_

_James burrowed his head into the crook of her neck. "Never." It was a simply statement, but so laced with emotion that she believed him._

_

* * *

_

A little voice in the back of James' head urged him to propose, because it was definitely the time to do so now. Swallowing desperately, he lifted his head up from the crook of Lily's neck and turned her on his lap so he was looking into her brilliant green eyes. "Lily?" he asked softly. "Marry me?"

Lily's eyes never moved from him. They showed bewilderment, shock, and something that James was unable to decipher. She didn't answer, and eventually James looked away to hide the disappointment and hurt in his eyes.

He felt soft lips press into his cheeks, and Lily's warm weight get off his lap. "I'll tell you when you're sober, James," came her soft voice. James nodded and didn't look up as he heard her footfalls go up the stairs towards the girl's dormitory.

He was uncertain how long he sat there until he heard the portrait door swing open to reveal a woebegone Remus. Remus looked around the room with deadened eyes, which came to rest on James. "Where's Lily?" he asked in what was almost a curious tone.

"I really don't want to talk about it Moony," sighed James. "Suffice to say, I think I just got rejected."

Moony raised his eyebrows in understanding and nodded slightly. "Ouch."

"Yeah.," said James. "Where's Tess?"

Remus covered his face with his hands, and James nodded in understanding.

* * *

_James wrapped an arm around Lily's waist discreetly. "Where's Tess?" he enquired to his friend._

_Remus blushed slightly. "She's…on her way up, I think."_

_James and Lily exchanged a knowing look, and Remus blushed harder. He was spared by any embarrassing questions as the portrait swung open to reveal Tess stepping through cautiously. Spotting her friends, she came over to them, her face lit with a mischievous grin._

_"The party seems to have ended, then?" she asked, still grinning. "What say we continue it on the roof?"_

_James and Remus exchanged interested glances, whilst Lily shrieked. "Tess! We can't go up there, besides, the roof is still wet, we'll fall!'_

_Tess humoured Lily with an amused glance. "We can get up there easy enough. Besides, it's stopped raining. As for it being slippery because it's wet… are you a witch or not?"_

_Lily paused and then broke out in peals of laughter. "I suppose I forgot momentarily." James called over Sirius and Amanda and together they left the common room to search out the roof._

_

* * *

_

James Milton wished he could close his weary eyes, or rub them. He had been attempting to break the bloody bonds in these thrice damned ropes for a week now. Surely because the…girl… hadn't been aware of the magical world she wouldn't have chosen these bonds on purpose?

A lucky accident for her, he thought bitterly as he followed behind her, a dark cloak wrapped around him to conceal his bound hands.

"Where are we going now?" he enquired politely to the small figure in front of him. She looked behind her, blue eyes flashing.

"Where do you think we are going, murderer?"

James eyes burned in response. "I think I don't know we're going, so I asked. And I also think it's not the best idea to go around calling me 'murderer' when you wish to remain inconspicuous."

A defiant shake of her wealth of blonde hair was the only answer that he received, and signing, he resigned himself to going back to breaking the bonds in the rope. One stupid mistake. One stupid lapse in his concentration whilst he had talked to the dead man, and where had it gotten him?

Trailing behind a blonde, extremely attractive shrew, who would no doubt rather have him drawn and quartered than look at him. Such is life.

* * *

_James Milton followed behind the slight blonde woman, blue eyes alert, flickering in every direction. The woman herself walked carefully as well, and if one had been paying attention they would have seen a slight bulge hear her right hip where a gun was concealed._

_"Carefully, they'll know we know they're on our trail now. The last thing we need you to do is destroy the glamour I created for you."_

_"I know," she hissed into the darkness. "Now shush!"_

_In the brief amount of time it took for the small exchange between the two, three wizards had formed a triangle around them in the darkness. The only warning James had was the scratching of one of the wizard's boots on the gravel._

_Turning sharply blue flame shot towards the noise, and as he did, the other two attacked as well. The scuffle (such as it was) lasted only moments. The other two wizards were left with their fallen comrade, and James grabbed the woman's hand and ran._

_It was only when he stopped that he realised that his companion was crying softly. "What is it?" he asked in a hoarse whisper._

_"Why did you… did they…why did you kill them?" she eventually asked._

_Of all the things he had been expecting, this was not it. "Pardon?"_

_"Why did you kill them? Why didn't you just knock them unconscious?"_

_James Milton rubbed an exasperated hand up against his eye. "Because when it's either them or me, or even them or you, I will do everything in my power to make sure that they are the ones who die. As to why I didn't simply knock them out…they'd still come after us once they came to. The only way you can deal with it is to kill them."_

_The blonde woman's face had been horrified as he spoke, and once he had finished a sob wracked her body._

_Extending unbound arms towards her, he moved to embrace her. "Andrea, I'm sorry, it's just…"_

_She recoiled from his touch. "Don't you come near me, murderer. You murdered again tonight and you didn't even feel the slightest bit of remorse did you? You don't see them as people, they're just expendable 'things'. My aunt, my uncle, them… none of them matter to you."_

_Watery blue eyes looked up at him, and then she turned and ran. Wondering why on earth he bothered, James broke into a run and followed._

_

* * *

_

Lily turned in her bed and groaned slightly. It was her last night ever at Hogwarts, but could she sleep?

No.

She blamed James, as well. James bloody Potter. It had been so romantic as they had sat there, and then all of a sudden he seemed to feel a desperate need to pop the question.

_It didn't mean anything, he was drunk, he didn't mean anything, he was drunk, none of that meant anything, he was drunk…_

_But what if I _wanted _it to mean something?_ She argued back. No use, she told herself wearily. It didn't mean _anything._

The question that everyone had been asking was what were they going to do after graduation. Her reply wasn't as simple: she didn't know. She had sent applications away for jobs with the ministry and with auror training… and she had also sent an application in for an intensive training course in charms.

It was the wizarding equivalent of university, and if she got in, then for a year she would learn about charms. Most importantly however, she would learn charm-making, which from there could be extended to other spells and forms of magic.

She sighed and turned over on her left side. No difference. Tired of not being able to do anything, she grabbed her wand and performed a drowsiness charm on herself.

Closing her eyes as she felt all her muscles relax and her mind quiet as a result of the charm, Lily Evans finally turned over and went to sleep.

* * *

_Sirius' laughed as he flew onto the roof. They'd all been flying calmly until James had challenged him to a race. Remus had called the mark, and they had gone…and he had won._

_James arrived a fraction behind him. "This proves _nothing_ Padfoot!" he declared, laughing nearly as much as Sirius' himself._

_Amanda, Lily, Tess, Remus and an excitable Peter whom they had run into in the hallways came behind and landed gracefully (or in Peter's case: _not_ so gracefully) on the rooftop._

_"Butterbeer for everyone," proclaimed Amanda with a grin. Sirius opened his mouth to protest but she beat him to it. "No, you've had more than enough Firewhiskey."_

_Sirius closed his mouth again and took a bottle of butterbeer._

_The group settled on the roof top, and for a long while, nothing at all was said. Everyone appeared content to gaze at the few stars that could be seen between the faint cloud cover._

_It was Remus who broke the silence. "This is it. Isn't it?"_

_Murmured assent greeted him throughout the small group gathered on the rooftop, and from nowhere a cool breeze came up, bringing with it the clean smell that so often follows rain._

_"What's going to happen to us?" asked Peter into the silence. "It's easy to be friends at school, we see each other every day." He paused, gathering his thoughts. "It'll be harder out of school."_

_Remus nodded slowly in agreement, but Sirius just laughed. "Are you saying we can't do it, Petey?" he questioned. "Maybe it will be harder, maybe it won't. Think about it. James and I -"_

_"And me!" interjected Amanda._

_"And you," agreed Sirius. "Are all going to be together in Auror training. Tess is working at a Gringotts representative in the Ministry, which is where you'll be working Peter. Remus… have you found anything yet, Moony?"_

_Remus swallowed slightly. "No, not yet."_

_Sirius nodded and patted him on the shoulder in understanding. "You will. The wonderful Lily will be doing her charms course in Dallion University, but as she'll still be seeing James, we'll be seeing a fair bit of her as well."_

_This was where Lily cleared her throat. "Um, actually, I'll be doing more than seeing him." Amused emerald eyes ignored the wolf-whistles and cat-calls that greeted that statement. Extending a delicate ivory hand, she spread her fingers to demonstrate the diamond glittering on her ring finger._

_Tess was the first to react. "Lily! I can't believe you're getting married! That's so…"_

_"Unbelievable," finished Amanda with a laugh. "Especially taking into consideration your fervent declarations of utmost hatred and wrath for this 'idiot' that you'd been stuck sharing the honour of being a Head with."_

_Lily laughed bashfully. "Well, he is an idiot. That much hasn't changed."_

_"Hey!" exclaimed James with a hurt expression on his face. Lily grinned impishly up at him and kissed his cheek._

_After that, the ice appeared to be broken, and there was much laughter and sharing of memories. Comments would often start off with "Oh, do you remember when…" or "Wasn't it funny when…". James felt Lily relax back onto his chest, and draped an arm around her waist._

_The night seemed endless, filled with a haze of butterbeer, and laughter, and tinged with a bit of sadness. No time at all seemed to have gone by when the sun began to rise over the lake, casting bright light into their tired eyes. "Shine until tomorrow…" whispered Lily drowsily._

_"But it _is _tomorrow, Lily," grinned James._

_

* * *

_

As dawn broke over the tiny village of Hogsmeade, a tall lanky male stretched and prepared to get out of bed. He pushed longish strands of black hair away from his eyes and yawned, grey eyes tightly closed. Hands stretched above his heads flexed and stretched, and his back arched.

Overall it gave one the impression of a cat waking up from a nice snooze in the sun.

He seemed to operate on automatic pilot as he got out of bed, walked towards the cupboard and got out a dark grey wizarding robe. Throwing the robe on the bed he began to take off the shirt he was wearing, but was interrupted by a soft clearing of throat from behind him.

Startled, he dropped his nightshirt and whirled around, wand at the ready.

"Do put that down, please," said the old wizard sitting in the corner, amused blue eyes twinkling over half-moon glasses. "I merely thought I should interrupt you before you embarrassed us both."

The hand holding the wand lowered, until it pointed towards the ground. "What are you doing here?" he whispered in a hoarse voice.

"Well, Mr. Black. I felt a need to speak with you," said the old wizard.

The wizard shook his head, his face emotionless. "I'm afraid you must be mistaken, Professor Dumbledore, sir. My name is James Evans."

Dumbledore smiled once more. "If you insist, Sirius. Now come, we have much to discuss."

**END PART ONE**

**

* * *

**

**Author's Note**: Thankyou to all of those who have been reading and reviewing Sirius' Choice – thanks to you Sirius' Choice now has over one hundred reviews! Give yourselves a clap, because you certainly deserve it!

And I have a feeling most of the readers in the Northern Hemisphere are having exams right about now, so best wishes for them, guys!

**Lady of the Dragons2:** Mysterious ending shall not be explained until next chapter, which will be along quicker than this one was now that I'm on holidays :D Anyway, Edana was never entirely bad or good, she's… human. She did what she thought was best at the time, but changed her mind in the end.

**Caet Rae: **Well, all the plot twists will be unraveled by the end of the story, I promise. Just keep reading, you'll see!

**Soleil Luna:** Yes, you spelt genius wrong. Still, it made me laugh!

**Sweet 16 Movie Buff:** Does this mean that you re-read this story in between updates? Wow… Anyway, my apologies over the Sirius being all on his lonesome again. He'll get over it eventually, it's just that this time there's the added sting of her betraying them, so he thinks he shouldn't be sad, but he is… there'll be more details on that later, though. Because as you said… there is HEAPS more to come.

**aigeanta meidhir: **Shh!! It might have something to do with the first chapter… or it might not :D You were my hundredth reviewer, so feel proud!

_**Remember to review and let me know how you think the story is going so far – Thanks!**_


	12. The Balance of all Things

**Sirius' Choice**

**Chapter Twelve: The Balance of all Things**

_Whimsical Firefly _

**Author's Note:** Well, here begins Part Two of Sirius' Choice, now that they're all out of Hogwarts and 'into the real world'. It's been posted un-betaed, so I apologize in advance for any spelling and grammar mistakes.

**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter and all recognizable characters are property of J.K. Rowling.

- - -

_In the beginning there was a balance to all things. Magic and non-magic. Land and ocean. And most importantly, Light and Dark._

_However, things change as they are often wont to do. Although for awhile the magic folks and the non-magic folks co-existed peacefully, recognizing that despite their differences they were the same species, eventually things began to go awry. The non-magics felt that there was an imbalance of power, that the magical people were more in control than they were. The magical people began to become superior, treating the non-magics (or 'muggles' as they were referred to in laughing tones) as a sub-class of people._

_Thus the balance between the two peoples was destroyed._

_War seemed inevitable, between the two. Although the wizards and witches had magic on their side, and considered themselves invincible, even the strongest wizard may be felled by a blade between their ribs. The death of that wizard became the catalyst for the war. In what they thought was righteous indignation for the murder of their greatest leader, the witches and wizards took up arms. _

_They did not consider the number of 'muggles' that they themselves had murdered. It wasn't important. If they had no magical ability, what use were they to the world? However the magical people were in a quandary as to who their leader ought to be. Just when it seemed that petty squabbles over leadership would break out between the next strongest wizards, someone else came along._

_This someone else was a powerful wizard. He wore power and command like a cloak, and immediately the other wizards paid him their respect. The fact that he was so powerful and yet they had never heard of him ought to have rung warning bells in the minds of the people, but strangely it did not. _

_He called for the extermination of the muggles. He painted a picture of a world made purely of wizards, of harmony and control and peace. It seemed appealing to those of weak minds. Others however began to have second thoughts. They didn't want to kill the muggles, merely teach them a lesson. _

_At first, the faction that called for the extermination of the muggles were greatly outnumbered by those who did not. However, their numbers began decreasing. Mysterious deaths were reported, and explained away by the muggles getting even. It gave them an even greater reason to kill them all. In time, an entire continent of dissenters was destroyed._

_Thus, the balance between the land and the ocean was destroyed, as the sea swallowed the land._

_However, eventually the other wizards began to see what was happening and the attack turned inwards. No longer did they care about the one death that the muggles had caused. They cared about the millions of deaths that the powerful wizard had caused. The few who were left made envoys to the muggles. They combined their strength and eventually destroyed what they now realised to be a dark wizard. However, his followers remained. The followers cast an ancient spell on the remains of their leader, and his spirit stayed._

_In time the muggle/wizard alliance crumbled once more, for the same reasons as the time before. What neither party knew was that the reaction between the two had been magnified by the spirit of the dark wizard, who's presence was now felt throughout the world like a leaden cloak. _

_Thus the darkness and light had been placed into constant conflict._

_An obliviate charm was placed on all the muggles of the world, and the wizards started their own underground society, away from the muggles eyes. Eventually their secrecy became fanatical, and a ministry was created to ensure that no muggles ever found out about the existence of the wizarding world._

_And whilst the world changed, a woman with night-black hair stood and watched through the veil that she was guardian of, and was saddened._

- - -

"Unbelievable!" yelled Sirius, as he entered the flat he was sharing with Remus and James. "Un-bloody-believable!"

"What's got your knickers in a knot, Padfoot?" asked Remus, looking up from the kitchen table with a wry grin.

Sirius collapsed onto the second hand sofa that they had bought and transfigured. "My first day of Auror training, and what do I discover?"

"Since I wasn't there Padfoot, you'll have to tell me," prodded Remus gently.

"Not only have I been placed in the same course as Amanda, James and I have been separated!" said Sirius running a frustrated hand through elegant black hair.

Remus raised an impressed eyebrow. "Amanda got into Auror training, huh? Well, that's not something you hear everyday…"

Sirius watched his friend with narrowed eyes. "You knew, didn't you?"

"I knew that she'd been accepted into Auror training, yes," laughed Remus. "I didn't know that she'd been placed in the same course as you." Pausing to recollect some of the arguments between Sirius and Amanda, he shook his head wryly. "That must be a match made in heaven. Your poor instructors."

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Oh, yes. Poor them, alright. What about poor me? I'm now stuck with the ill-tempered witch until either she drops out or we finish."

"How do you know you won't drop out?" inquired Remus. Sirius merely gave him a grumpy look and he nodded. "You know Sirius, she isn't actually that bad. She's a gorgeous girl, she's easy to get along with…" he paused. "Sometimes I think you simply go out of your way not to get along with her."

Sirius ignored Remus, and got out of his seat. "I'm going to get changed," he said in a grumpy tone.

"Alright then," said Remus in his pleasantest voice, knowing that that would only irritate Sirius further. "Before you go though, would you happen to know the whereabouts of one Mr. Prongs?"

"He said something about Lily. Your guess is as good as mine." With that, Sirius stormed off to his room, leaving a grinning Remus in his wake. Once Sirius was out of the room, however, Remus' face fell.

He turned back to the paper that was spread out in front of him. An entire summer gone by, and he had yet to find a job. He'd had interviews and every single one ended with the interviewer looking through his profile, smiling at his marks, the fact that he was a Gryffindor prefect…

… And the smile vanishing from their face when they saw his werewolf registry paper.

After that, he would either be asked to leave politely, or ordered out the room. The polite ones would either usually tell him that they were unfortunately unable to allow him to work here due to safety reasons, the edgy ones would plaster a fake smile onto their faces and say they'd see what they could do. He never heard back from them.

Running a frustrated hand through his golden-brown hair, he looked at the paper in front of him. He couldn't afford to be fussy about where he worked. He needed the money to pay the rent. Although James and Sirius assured him it didn't matter, it did to him. He knew his parents were glad to see him leave home, although they didn't say it. He knew he would not be welcome back there. He knew he was being a burden here with James and Sirius until he managed to find a job and help with the cost.

He looked at the job that he had circled. _Knockturn Alley. I can't be seriously considering working at Knockturn Alley?_

But he knew he was past considering it as his hand stretched out to grab the quill and paper of it's own accord. If nothing else, at Knockturn Alley they wouldn't recoil in horror when they found out he was a werewolf.

- - -

Sirius lay flat on the double bed in his room, his black hair forming a shadowy halo around his head.

He had used to share this bed with Edana. She had moved in with him when he had bought the flat half-way through their seventh year. He had wanted her to.

He'd spent the summer happy and lively around his friends, doing all the usual 'Sirius-y things' as Lily had termed it. It was only when he was alone that his thoughts turned inevitably to Edana.

In his mind he could see all his memories of Edana running through his head, her smiling, laughing, concentrating intensely as she played Quidditch, crying, the look of fear as she saw the Death Eater's curse flung towards her, the intent look on her face as she studied for potions, her as she walked through Hogsmeade with him.

Then his thoughts came to the day she died, as they always did. The expression on her face, the bruises and cuts that covered her visible flesh.

A shudder wracked his body, and without realizing, Sirius curled up in foetal position. He refused to cry over Edana. He _refused_. She was a traitor, a betrayor, she wasn't worthy of anything.

Least of all for him to go and cry over her.

_Think of something else, dammit_ he ordered himself. The first image that popped into his brain was Amanda. Sirius growled. Something else then, he ordered his brain.

After that, his mind remained mercifully empty.

- - -

It was an innocuous flat, pale cream walls and a burnished metal banister that trailed around the stairs.

James ran his hand along the railings as he walked. It was a muggle area, and he hoped that he was blending into the scenery enough. He'd changed out of his robes and was now wearing pale grey trousers and a black cable-knit jumper that Lily had given him for Christmas when they were in school.

As he walked up the stairs towards Lily's apartment he anxiously examined the flowers in his hand. They were a pale delicate pink… Lily liked pink, didn't she? He exhaled a nervous breath, and loosened his grip on the flowers so that he didn't kill them.

It was strange, Lily had been avoiding him since they graduated, and he was rather uncertain as to why. She'd see him, but she was… distant. She didn't want to spend excess time around him and she seemed sad all the time.

And he didn't know what he'd done, or why she was acting that way. It was only recently that he'd thought the reason for it might be because she didn't want to see him anymore, but she didn't know how to break it to him.

So, his task today was to a) find out what was bothering her. There were two part b's depending on what part a revealed. The first part b) involved him getting on the ground and apologizing profusely. The second part b) involved him hunting down whoever and whatever had made Lily unhappy and causing them great pain.

But first he had to get her alone long enough to talk to her. That part could be slightly difficult, given that she had been avoiding him lately. He stood at the door which displayed the lettering '4A' on it's side. Lily's flat.

Ignoring the quickening of his heartbeat he knocked on the door twice. And waited. Lily's voice rang out to say that she'd be there in a moment, and James shifted his weight nervously from foot to foot.

A moment later a flushed looking Lily opened the door, and stopped as she saw him standing there. James swallowed nervously, and proffered the flowers to Lily, who wordlessly took them from his hand.

"I should go and put these in a vase," she said softly, turning abruptly from the doorway and walking inside the flat. After a moment's debate, James followed her inside, through the living room and into the kitchen. Settling himself at the side bench he watched the graceful arc of her neck as she turned her head, the casual efficiency that she used as she set the flowers up.

Eventually, she turned and looked at him. "Thankyou," she said with slightly shadowed eyes. James nodded slowly, wondering why it was so tense in the room.

Lily once again, turned away from him and began walking back towards the living room. Muttering an oath under his breath, James followed. "Lily, why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?" she asked with false cheer.

James gestured helplessly. _"This_".

Lily's face remained emotionless, and James ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "You've been avoiding me ever since school finished, and you know it." Lily's face stayed blank, but her eyes flashed briefly with some hidden emotion, and James continued on. "I don't know if it's anything to do with me, but in case it was, I came here to apologize. That's why I bought the flowers."

James waited patiently for Lily to answer, and yet received no sign, no hint of how she was feeling. Finally, he looked away. "I guess I was just wasting my time, then."

He turned and walked towards the door. "I can see myself out, thanks."

Once again, he received no response from Lily, and feeling close to tears, James left apartment 4A.

- - -

_Just a few more strands… Another eight strands and the bonds will have been broken. Seven and a half…_

James Milton's brow remained furrowed and sweat-streaked as he attempted to break the last remaining magical bonds in the ropes. He hadn't expected it to be anywhere near as tricky as it was. He had expected to have left the girl in a week at the outside, and yet, here he was two months later, still finishing up with breaking the bonds.

It was times like these that he wondered what had possessed the girl to choose such strong magical bonds. How had she known?

The answer was, of course, that she hadn't. Sheer luck had been on her side and it had served her well.

_Seven…Almost there, just a little bit more old chap. Six. Soon, soon. Six and a half…_

Once he was out of there, though… what would he do? One half of him replied defiantly that it would be leaving, back to the life it had led, back to challenges and conquests and danger.

Another voice however, whispered in the back of his mind that the girl…he still didn't know her name. That voice whispered that she was vulnerable, and that she needed help. It said that because he had caused her problems, he should at least attempt to solve them.

Strangely enough, James found himself torn between the two. In the darkness, he was easily able to recall the way her blonde hair formed a fine mist on the pillow as she slept. Images of her blue eyes flashing with anger and something else as she spoke seemed etched onto his eyelids.

_Five. The count down is now well and truly on. Four, three…Ha! It's getting easier_.

Choose. He had to make a choice, so that once the bonds were broken he could either slip out of the apartment, or whether his hands remained bound with the unmagicked ropes.

_Two. Oh, so close…One._

James sat and looked at his bound hands. The ropes stayed tied. He looked up across the room to where the girl was lying down, fine hair obscuring her face.

_So. This is what you're choosing between is it? Freedom, and a girl who's name you still don't know after how many months? A girl who can't stand to look at you, not that you'd want her looking at you. A girl who calls you murderer in a venomous voice. A girl without magic who goes out of her way to be unpleasant._

_You're stuck trying to choose between _this_ and freedom?_

James closed his eyes, resigned to that way his thought process had gone.

The ropes slipped off his hands.

James Milton turned towards the door and exited the building without a backwards glance towards the sleeping woman.

- - -

Sirius Black, alias James Evans, set the bar up on automatic pilot. He had worked here for so long now that he could do it half asleep. All the different glasses, all the different liquors and drink, he now knew from memory.

_Mother would be so proud…_

As always, his mind was focused on Dumbledore. Dumbledore and that remarkable conversation he had had, so many weeks ago.

The conversation had been simple, short – Dumbledore had expected nothing more of him than that he listen. And he had. Dumbledore needed to know how it would end, or if it would end, and what he had meant last time they had spoken.

Sirius had shook his head sickly, and Dumbledore had simply nodded. After that he had advised Sirius to think about it and exited the room.

And now, however many weeks later, he was still torn. What could he say? That in the future he was an escaped convict charged with the murder of his best friend and his best friends' wife, murdering a large number of muggles with a single curse, except he had been innocent, it had been another close friend who had done it, instead?

What would be changed if he mentioned the outcome of that fateful night when Voldemort turned up to Godric's Hollow? Would it change for better or for worse?

And really in the long run, if it meant that James and Lily remained alive…Did he care?

With a set expression, Sirius charmed the remainder of the glasses into their correct positions, the chairs off the tables and onto the floor, and the dishcloth to wipe all the tables down.

The sign at the door remained on 'Closed', as he reached for parchment and quills.

_So…what would I change?_

- - -

Remus felt his sweaty palms slide past each other, and then nervously clasped them together, as the warlock in front of him flicked through his profile. He was an ugly fellow, thought Remus clinically. The nose was disfigured, broken at least twice if not more, and healed awkwardly. The man slipped a tounge between his teeth, and Remus caught a glimpse of yellowing teeth, arranged higgeldy-piggeldy. Bloodshot black eyes were as hard as diamonds as he read.

Remus inhaled nervously, and wished he hadn't. He could smell potions, sweat, alcohol and waste, with the overlying scent of decaying flesh. Remus found himself continuously fighting the urge to gag.

Through the window he could see evidence of shady business deals, as people pulled things out from under coats, only to hide them again. On the way in, he had even passed a Polyjuice Brothel, and after pausing briefly in front of it, decided that he didn't want to know.

He was most certainly in Knockturn Alley.

Finally, the man in front of him looked up, and Remus struggled to maintain a pleasant face and keep eye contact with those cold black eyes.

"So," says the man slowly, his voice sounding like gravel slipping over oil. "A Gryffindor prefect. And a werewolf."

A predatory grin was beginning to show, and Remus was beginning to feel slightly anxious. Thoughts like _'Maybe this was a bad idea…No, screw that, I _know_ it was a bad idea'_ began to circulate through his head.

The man continued on, his diamond hard eyes never leaving Remus' face. "I see no reason for you not to work here, in fact…" his eyes raked over Remus' long body. "In fact, I'm sure that your appearance here will raise the clientele numbers."

Remus resisted the urge to swallow. He knew what he was getting himself in for. He had known when he applied. They didn't care that he was a werewolf, it was all he was good for at the moment. After a few brief moments had passed, Remus' golden eyes looked firmly into his employers. "In that case, when do I start?"

- - -

**Author's Note:** Heh… Holidays, what can I say? Sorry guys… I hope you're all having a fantastic break (and that Santa brought you lots of awesome goodies.) This is my (belated) Christmas present to all of you, so if anyone wants to be nice and review as a Christmas present back…

Anyway – Review Replys!!

**_Heart of the Phoenix:_** Well, hello! I did wonder where you had disappeared to… Thanks for the encouraging words, there'll probably be some more around the New Year!

**_Lady of the Dragons2:_** All I'm going to say is that you were on the right track in your last review ;) How'd you go on your exams?

**_Sweet 16 Movie Buff:_** Rule number one: you never apologize for a perfectly good review that the writer loves reading! So… Amanda and Sirius is a bit of a mixed bag. Whilst he might like her, Sirius might not be too keen on another relationship. That, and they already have a bit of a history together.

**_Blueslusher48:_** Lol, glad that you're enjoying this so far. I thought about just making it a normal MWPP fic, but then I did it this way and it feels a bit more realistic. If they were in the middle of a war that constantly had attacks and people dying, I don't really think that they'd be all that carefree by seventh year.

**_jwhit-moony:_** 'Snaaape, Snaaape, oh it's a Snape…'

Thanks to my other reviewers _random kitty, aigeanta meidhir, and Novemberkind_.

**_Please review and let me know how this is all going – Thankyou!_**


	13. Stumbling

**Sirius Choice**

**Chapter Thirteen: Stumbling**

_Whimsical Firefly_

**Author's Note: **:meekly begs forgiveness: There's been a lot of stuff happening that's prevented this chapter from being posted, and my deepest apologies. Read on.

**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter and all related characters are property of J.K. Rowling.

* * *

**To Recap:** The _italics_ are what happened the first time around – the canon version, if you will. The writing that is normal is what is happening the second time around when Death and the council put Sirius back through the veil into the past.

In the last chapter, we saw that in the 'normal' time, something was going awry with James and Lily, Remus got a job in Knockturn Alley (although as to where…), James Milton finally managed to slip the magic ropes off, and the older Sirius (posing under the alias of 'James Evans') begins to think about Dumbledore's offer of being able to start changing things.

* * *

_The air that brushed on Lily and James' backs was cold and piercing. Sirius had christened it a 'lazy wind' earlier that day - it couldn't be bothered going around you, going straight through you instead._

_James saw Lily shiver beside him and wrapped his arm around her slim shoulders, pulling her closer to him. She smiled slightly up at him and relaxed into his grip. _

_"The sooner we get out of this air and into the pub, the better," James said, nuzzling her hair as he spoke._

_Lily laughed slightly, and nodded. "Too true." Pausing, she then kept talking. "So… when we see the others, do we tell them?"_

_"Tell them what?" said James in a baffled tone. He felt rather than saw Lily glare at him, and knew that that was most likely the wrong answer to give._

_She waved her left hand in front of his face to show the diamond ring sitting on her fourth finger. "You proposed to me last night when you showed up at my flat with flowers, assuming you remember that far back of course?"_

_James coloured slightly, to Lily's vast amusement. "Of course I remember. How on earth could I forget?". Lily however was still looking up at him with a slightly pensive look on her face, so James leant down to kiss her soundly. "I will never forget that, rest assured, Lily."_

_Finally she smiled at him, and James relaxed again. "And the answer to your previous question? Of course we tell everyone. I want them to know that you're mine now, and that I love you." This time the arms around Lily's shoulders was decidedly possessive, but after thinking about it, Lily admitted to herself that she rather liked it anyway._

_They then walked in to the pub to meet everyone together, James' arm around Lily's shoulders, and Lily's arm around his waist._

* * *

It did not escape Remus' attention that James and Lily arrived separately when they organized the get-together at the pub. It also didn't strike him as mere co-incidence that James had come home from Lily's apartment the day before and then locked himself in his room for several hours.

The only conclusion that he could reach was that James had stuffed up (yet again), and that he would have to at least offer to help him fix things up. With a sigh, he pushed golden brown hair out of weary eyes, and absently thought that he should really give it a trim.

"I always wondered what Death warmed up would look like," came a softly lilting voice in his ear.

Remus gave a half-smile at Tess' jibe and turned to face her. Violet eyes looked him over, and then looked back into his eyes. "No really, what on earth have you been doing? You look like hell."

Remus gave his first genuine smile of the evening. "It's nothing, I'm fine." _Hopefully_, he thought, _that will put her off my case. I can't tell her about…well…_

Tess simply raised an eyebrow. "You're fine. Hence why your eyes are bloodshot, your skin is pale and edging towards acquiring that no doubt sought after grey tinge, and you have bags under your eyes that I could sleep in." She paused in her speech, not breaking eye contact. "And you're fine."

Remus resisted the urge to look away from her hypnotic violet eyes. _Liar's sign, I mustn't do that_. "Perhaps a little tired," he conceded, still smiling at her.

Although Tess still didn't look completely satisfied, she let it pass, perhaps sensing that a partial victory was all that she would be able to win off him today. Settling herself in his lap, she patted his cheek with a soft hand. "Get some sleep, then." Tess looked up with a devilish expression on her face. "You could even come and sleep over at my place."

Resting his head on her shoulder, Remus asked mildly "Do you really think we'd get all that much sleeping done?"

Tess' lips pouted thoughtfully. "Probably not, come to think of it. But you'd probably come out of it looking better than you do now."

Remus snorted. "Wouldn't be hard at the moment, would it?"

Tess simply smiled and curled up against him as around the table everyone arrived and began to talk and chatter. Remus watched as she absently reached to her throat and clasped the pendant that rested there. The silver dagger.

_You're going to have to tell her the truth someday, even if she hasn't worked it out yet._

_Someday. Not yet though._

* * *

James Milton walked away from the room. From the woman. From being harassed and snarled at.

Theoretically he could Apparate away, and yet he didn't. He reasoned that it would be better to wait until he was in an area where no one would see him.

He ignored the part of his mind that said it was because he wanted to stay with the blonde woman, and that by walking he was delaying his return to the real world and his loss of her.

Not that there was a loss, of course.

His feet kept walking of their own accord down the stairs, his hand reaching for the banister to balance himself out of habit.

Off the stairs, through the eatery, towards the door.

It was when his right foot was through the threshold of the door when he heard the scream. He remained standing at the threshold, half of him in and half of him out. The scream was feminine and very, very familiar. After all, he'd been hearing it for the past two months non-stop, hadn't he?

The girl! She's in trouble? 

The part of himself that maintained a distance from her snarled that it wasn't any of his concern.

James Milton, however, did not appear to be listening as he raced back up the stairs, taking them two at a time.

* * *

Long ebony hair was thrown out of furious eyes, as Sirius ducked and rolled to avoid the curse. Throwing a Stunner at the man who had thrown the curse at him, he spun around, wand at the ready.

Adrenalin pumping through his veins Sirius grinned. This was life! This was what it meant to be an Auror. The nightly free-for-all matches were used to get potential Aurors used to fending off spells from all directions – hence why he was here, instead of at the pub with his friends. So far, most of the class was down, and only him and two others were still standing. Narrowing his eyes to make out who they were, Sirius was able to make out Amanda and the Longbottom's lad. Frank, that was it.

The feral grin spread, if possible, wider.

He charged over and hurled a curse at Frank. Amanda who had tensed as he had come over, relaxed slightly. That was when the curse veered suddenly away from Frank and straight through her lax shield.

The impact of the spell alone was enough to throw her back into the wall and land heavily.

However, to Sirius' surprise, she didn't stay down. Instead she got up, and, casting a quick refreshing charm on herself, began to throw curses and jinxes at him and Frank both with a renewed vigour.

The rest of the class who were by now out of the game, gathered around to watch. A small, uncontrolled part of Sirius' brain had to admit that Amanda did look rather spectacular at the moment. Long hair whirling around her shoulders, blue eyes so vibrant that they seemed to crackle with magical energy, and she never stopped moving. Her body constantly contorted and moved and swayed to the rhythms of her spells.

He found it hypnotic almost. So much so that his own shield grew weaker without him noticing.

"Petrificus Totalus" 

Sirius froze in mid-spell, unable to move. Amanda's triumphant smirk told him who she thought had won, and given that he was currently paralysed, he doubted that he would be able to prove her otherwise.

With him now out of the way, Sirius watched as Amanda went on to attack a thoroughly bewildered Frank, who seemed to be wondering what he had done to deserve this. After they traded curses and hexes, it became apparent once more that they were rather evenly matched, with neither Amanda nor Frank being able to gain the upper hand.

Finally, Amanda appeared to tire of this and tackled Frank bodily, landing heavily on his chest. Sirius watched as she scrambled up and straddled Frank's chest, her wand pressing into his throat. "Do you surrender?" she asked in a silky voice.

Frank looked as though he was attempting to work out a way that he could strike back at her, and seemingly finding none, collapsed backwards and nodded weakly.

The Auror who had been supervising blew the whistle to declare victory, and in an amplified voice announced to all the trainee's that Amanda had won the exercise. A mass _Finite Incantantem_ was cast over the group, and other trainee's like Sirius who had been unable to move suddenly regained feeling and movement in their limbs.

Pulling himself upright, Sirius walked over towards Frank who had his head in his hands. "Not to worry, mate," said Sirius in what might have been construed as a soothing tone. Raising his voice slightly so some of the people near by could hear, he continued. "Just remember that she always likes to be on top – especially in bed. I speak from experience mate, I mean to say –"

Sirius was cut off abruptly by an irate Amanda. "You… you bloody bastard! You unspeakable _worthless_ bit of pond-scum. You horrid, immature, overgrown prat! How on _earth_ could you say something like that?" Sirius merely congratulated himself on his talent at annoying stuck-up bints like Amanda, but slowed slightly in his congratulations to himself when he realised that there were tears in her eyes.

"Why is it that whenever I do anything that's worthy of praise and I'm happy you always have to come up and ruin it all for me?" Neither of the two noticed the crowd that their argument was gathering, the air seemed to simply crackle with the electricity between them. "Haven't you done enough? Or do you have no idea what you're so called innocent jibing does to people?"

Sirius looked into teary blue eyes and wondered what she was talking about. Perhaps his eyes conveyed that he didn't know what she was talking about as she began to shake her head, her eyes never moving from his face. "You have no idea at all, do you?" she questioned softly. Sirius kept his face blank and impassive.

"Know what?"

Amanda's eyes narrowed and she began to walk towards him, wand at the ready. "If you truly have no idea what you do to people then I suggest you try this."

"Oh?" queried Sirius raising a cool eyebrow.

"Oh, indeed," said Amanda, a dead glint in her eyes. "_Personalis Memento Perditionis._" She said softly, and a dark red mist swirled out of her wand to cocoon Sirius. Giving a satisfied nod, she then proceeded to walk away from Sirius and the audience, hips swaying as she walked.

However no one's eyes were on her, or her hips. Everyone's attention was focused on Sirius, whose dark red cocoon had taken him up into the air where he was now screaming his lungs out.

* * *

Remus and Tess were walking away from the pub, hand-in-hand, when they heard heavy foot-falls behind them. Remus turned around just as James collided with them and sent all three of them crashing into the snow.

Tess was the first to recover. "James Potter! What on earth are you doing?" James gave a sheepish laugh and ruffled his hair as he realised that both Remus and Tess would quite cheerfully commit murder right now, and the victim would be him.

"Um… seeing if I could walk back with you two?" James asked with a hopeful puppy-dog expression that he must have learnt off Sirius. Remus sighed, and nodded getting up and offering a gloved hand to both Tess and James.

Pulling them both upright, he waited patiently as Tess brushed herself off, all the while glaring daggers at James. "Why aren't you with Lily, anyway?" she asked crossly.

Remus watched as James expression went from sheepish to down-right miserable. "She… doesn't appear to like me that much right at the moment."

Tess' expression softened marginally. "Pardon?"

"She hates me."

Remus choked back an inappropriate laugh. In answer to James look, he finally said, "Well, at least if nothing else you should be used to it."

James rolled his eyes and stuck his hands in his pockets and looked down, giving out the impression of an overgrown two year who had just been rather hard-done by.

Tess on the other hand appeared to be more curious. "Why does she hate you now though? I mean, she was crazy about you when we graduated…" Tess paused, with an amused expression on her face. "Alright James, what did you do?"

"I don't know. As far as I know, nothing. I even went as far as going to her apartment with flowers yesterday to apologize for whatever it was that I've done, but it didn't seem to…work. You know?"

Tess nodded consideringly. "Maybe there isn't anything actually wrong?" offered Remus.

James pulled a face and shook his head. "No, she's been acting…stand-offish since we graduated."

"Ah…James it might seem inappropriate for me to ask, but did you…ah…" Remus paused, trying to find the correct words, and shooting desperate looks to Tess who seemed lost in thought.

"Did I ah _what_, Moony?"

"Did you…ah… well, try to _force_ her to do anything on graduation night?"

James looked confused for a moment, and then his eyes widened in horror as he realised what Remus was implying. "No, of course not.. I'd never.. I…not to her… not to _anyone_…that's… bloody hell Moony, how could you even _ask_ me that? I'm not Sirius!" exclaimed an outraged James. "And even with Sirius, he's not forcing them, because they'll come running to him."

Tess had apparently come out of her personal daydream long enough to hear the last part of that conversation. Erupting into peals of laughter, she finally managed to gasp out "Bad…images..."

James shot her a darkling look and then looked expectantly back at Remus. "Well?" he asked hopefully.

Remus shrugged. "Basically, it will probably boil down to something you said or did on Graduation night." Tess nodded.

James looked thoughtful. "Well, there wasn't anything, I mean we talked for awhile, and we had the speeches, and she was sitting on my lap and I proposed and -"

"Wait-wait-wait-wait!" interrupted Tess. "You proposed? How come we haven't heard anything of this?"

"Because…she didn't say yes?" offered James. Remus nodded as though that made sense.

Tess's face seemed to be drawn with concentration. "Think about it James – what did you say, exactly, and what did she say in response?"

"Ah… I asked her to marry me, and she said she'd tell me when I was sober," said James. "That was it, more or less."

Remus shrugged. "While not the ideal circumstances, I can't really see anything wrong there, mate, maybe she's in the middle of-"

"Finish that sentence and you will lose vital body parts," said Tess in a no-nonsense manner to Remus. "As for you James – you proposed to Lily while you were _drunk?_"

James coughed into his fist. "Uh… yeah. Is that bad?"

"Very bad. What did you say the next day then, when she was meant to tell you her answer?"

"She didn't. I didn't mention it either."

Tess threw her hands up into the air with frustration. "No _wonder_ she's acting like she is then. James, you are an idiot!" James opened his mouth to protest the last statement, and closed it again when Remus elbowed him in the ribs. "First you go and propose while drunk, which makes it look like you don't really care, and _then_ you don't mention it to her the next day, which would have made it look like you didn't remember and that you didn't care."

James and Remus were both looking at Tess strangely. Finally Remus managed to ask, "Girls actually…_care_ about stuff like that?"

"Of course," answered Tess loftily, giving him a superior look.

"And that's why Lily's angry with me?" asked James hopefully?

"Most probably. Now, you should go and apologize."

James looked at her. "Apologize…now?"

"As soon as possible," Tess told him, straight-faced.

"So… you won't mind if I leave you to go and apologize to Lily? She should be back at her flat by now."

Remus suddenly realized what Tess was trying to do and joined in. "Of course not Prongs, we'll understand. I mean, you love her."

"Yeah…" agreed James with a distant look on his face before turning around and nearly sprinting back in the direction that Lily's flat was in.

Remus and Tess traded amused glances. "Well, that was ridiculously simple, wasn't it?" asked Remus.

Tess laughed and linked her arm through Remus'. "Shall we go home?"

"We shall."

* * *

"Albus, I do hope I'm not disturbing you, but the man you said to keep an eye out for – James Evans? He's here to see you, and he says it's rather urgent," came Minerva McGonagall's crisp tones.

Dumbledore nodded. "Send him up, Minerva."

A few moments later, a tall man with long black hair filled with grey streaks entered the room, grey-blue eyes looking around before finally coming to rest upon Dumbledore. The corner of the mouth tweaked up into a smile. "Good afternoon Albus… may I call you Albus?"

"Certainly, Sirius," said Dumbledore, watching as the younger man flinched slightly at being called his own name, before settling down on a seat.

"I take it you considered what we talked about then?" Upon receiving a nod, Dumbledore continued. "What decision did you reach?"

Sirius was silent for awhile before finally speaking. "There were a lot of deaths – a lot of them could have been avoided if only we'd known they were coming, or if we had known in advance that they were traps laid by Voldemort."

Dumbledore remained silent, simply listening as Sirius talked. "Silly mistakes, trusting people who shouldn't have been trusted. It could have all so easily been avoided." Sirius paused, taking a deep breath.

"There are three key things that shouldn't have happened, though. There was a raid done by trainee Aurors at York in the middle of December. It was a trap, and it shouldn't have happened, so many people died needlessly. James and Lily need to be protected using the Fidelius Charm, and their secret keeper will have to be either me….well, the younger me, or you. Finally, Alice and Frank need to be protected with the Fidelius Charm as well. I don't think you need to be as careful about who their secret keepers are."

Sirius looked firmly into Dumbledore's burning blue eyes. "Most importantly – make sure that James and Lily, along with Alice and Frank, stay _safe_. Nothing in the world is going to be more important."

Dumbledore nodded. "Thank you…Sirius. I will keep that firmly in mind. If there is anything else?"

"I'll let you know," said Sirius curtly, getting out of his chair. "Just remember to do as I say."

And with that, he turned and left Dumbledore's office, his cloak swirling around him despite the lack of wind.

Leaning back in his chair, the old headmaster steepled his fingers and thought.

* * *

The scream seemed endless as James Milton ran up the stairs, and in some ways, it gave him hope. As long as she screamed, he knew she was still alive.

When he reached the door, it was locked shut. His blue eyes glowed as his hand gripped the door knob and turned it, and the door opened smoothly and quietly.

He was taken aback at the sight that greeted him – ten Death Eaters were gathered around the girl and levitating her, whilst spells that would harm her, but not kill her were being thrown from every direction. Even from the doorway, James could see quite clearly that her arm was broken, and her fair skin was cut and bleeding in many different places.

"No," he muttered near silently, fury building in him. None of the Death Eaters were aware of his presence, and thus none of them saw the glowing blue eyes of the Mind Mage. James wasn't sure what he did afterwards, but a moment later all of the surrounding Death Eaters were collapsed on the floor, and James was quickly crossing the room to gather up the barely conscious girl into his arms.

Despite the cuts and gashes over her face, she was beautiful. Quickly shaking such thoughts out of his head, he murmured that she'd be fine and Apparated to Diagon Alley.

Before he did so however, he was dimly aware that she had curled in towards him and that a delicate hand now clutched his robes, and that the small unthinking gesture pleased him far more than was probably proper.

* * *

Tess lay awake listening to the soft, even breathing of Remus beside her, and wriggled closer. The arm that Remus had wrapped possessively around her waist curled tighter still, and she now feel his warm breath on the back of her neck as he moved closer still.

She reached up to hold her pendant before realising that she had taken it off earlier. She didn't want to hurt Remus again like she had on graduation night. Closing her eyes, Tess attempted to fake sleep, but her mind wasn't quite ready to go into that state just yet.

She knew he was a werewolf – it all fitted and made so much sense…but she couldn't tell him just yet. What if there was a small chance that he wasn't a werewolf? What if him not being able to handle the touch of silver on bare skin and being sick once a month were entirely unrelated and he wasn't a werewolf?

And if he was a werewolf…why hadn't he told her?

Tess sighed. No, he was a werewolf. That was why he had been going to the Forbidden Forest that night, and had been injured when she had been in the infirmary the next morning. No other explanation fitted, and loath as she was to admit it, she was in love with a werewolf.

But he didn't feel beastly against her. Moving slightly, she felt her skin rub up against his, and his body react to the movement in spite of itself. He didn't feel any different, he didn't act any different, except perhaps that he was more understanding and intelligent compared to other males his age.

Where was the monster that he was meant to be?

* * *

"What do we do?"

"I don't know… Oh, dear Merlin I hope he's okay."

"What did she _do_ to him?"

All the while Sirius kept on screaming in his dark red cocoon whilst the class gathered round and looked at him.

Even the instructors were at a loss of what to do, when suddenly, Sirius abruptly stopped screaming, and the dark red cocoon began to unravel.

The class stepped back as the Auror in charge rushed towards him. "Mr. Black? Mr. Black?"

Blank eyes turned towards her, and stayed trained on her face.

"Mr. Black, are you in full possession of your wits?"

"Last time I checked," said Sirius, his voice hoarse and his breath slightly heavy. Suddenly he sat up and dry-retched.

Rocking backwards and forwards slightly, he managed to stand up on shaky legs. "I'm fine…I'm fine," he muttered, although if it was to reassure himself or everyone else, no one knew.

Turning, he walked away from the rest of the group, leaving the majority to wonder what in Merlin's name had just occurred.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** So yes, a million apologies for how long it's taken me to get this chapter posted. Senior year of schooling, a beta moving across the country, a grandmother getting seriously ill and being hopitalised permanently, and me being quite ill as well have all contributed to the delay.

**_Blueslusher48:_** Yay! I'm glad you're enjoying it and that there weren't many (if any) mistakes spotted in it. Thanks!

**_Sweet 16 Movie Buff:_** LMAO! Oh, how your reviews make me laugh…I hope you get this chapter as soon as it's posted, and that you enjoyed it. James Milton is still going to be doing a bit of running around yet – Things are only just starting to get a bit hairy for him. Keep reading and reviewing – it makes me very, very happy…

**_Perenelle:_** You write such lovely long reviews… I can't reply to it here, I'm going to e-mail you a reply when I have time. Soon hopefully. Thanks for all the feedback!

**_Amalynne O'hara:_** Wow – thanks, if you want to add SC to your C2 archive, go right ahead, it sounds great! I'm glad you're liking the story, and hope you keep reading as it goes on.

**_Gigifanfic:_** :blushes: thanks, I'm glad you like the concept and ideas behind the story, I hope you do manage to keep reading until the end.

**_Elven Dagger:_** Sometimes it gets tricky, but I have most of the story nutted out already. I can't tell you what Sirius did to ensure that Edana survived the raid on the Potter's house. It hasn't been mentioned yet, and it becomes a rather important plot point later on in the story… So it would be a shame to spoil the suspense and tell you now, wouldn't it? ;) Ditto for the 'two Padfoots' conundrum – you'll just have to keep on reading it. On the other hand though – I'd forgotten that they learn about Thestrals in Fifth Year, but I'll excuse myself for doing that by saying Sirius doesn't really strike me as the type who'd pay that much attention in class anyway.

**_rosepetal13:_** Um… oops. Oh well, there you go – Sirius made some choices this chapter, and there'll hopefully be more soon.

**_PS: _**On the revelry/revery – I blame that one on James. I did send that chapter to him for beta-ing…;) (sorry James…). As for Sirius and Edana escaping – there are two Sirius's in the story, the older one who got put back through the veil, and the younger one who's currently living in that timeline. Sorry if you got confused by it. James and Lily didn't know that Sirius and Edana both escaped at that stage. Thanks!

**_Finally – Please, please review and let me know how the story is going so far. Thanks!_**


	14. Made in Black and White

**Sirius' Choice**

**Chapter Fourteen: Made In Black and White**

_Whimsical Firefly_

**Author's Note: **Woo! Currently beta-less – anyone game to volunteer? J/k…I'm just giving advance warning that there are probably a few errors in here somewhere.

**Disclaimer:** Harry Potter and all related characters are property and creation of J.K. Rowlings.

* * *

_The cards let out a loud banging noise and Tess gave a frustrated squeal when for the third time in a row the Exploding Snap exploded on her. Peter, Remus, Sirius and Amanda all quietly snickered as Tess cried out "This is crap! Haven't we all outgrown this game by now anyway?"_

_"Nope!" said Sirius cheerily, dealing out the cards again. "Besides, you were perfectly happy to be playing this game when you were winning."_

_Tess stuck out her bottom lip. "But that was then…"_

_Remus laughed and pulled her closer to him. "Here's a thought Tess – we'll play together and we'll win this time, alright?"_

_He was rewarded with an enormous cheesy grin from Tess, and the added body warmth as she moved closed still. _

_They were about half-way through the game when the door banged open again and Lily and James walked in. Given that all the attention was on them, no one bar Remus saw Tess jump slightly when she thought the cards were going to explode on her again._

_"Oh, hello," smiled Lily wanly. "I forgot you were all coming here tonight." She said something quietly to James and then proceeded down the hall to her room._

_As a parting shot, Sirius recoiled, acting as though he had been stabbed to the heart. "I'm hurt! Wounded by your lack of care towards us!"_

_"Stop it, Sirius, this really is not the time for your…for…tomfoolery," said James, voice hoarse. Swallowing visibly, he collapsed back on the sofa, and put his head back._

_Sirius stopped acting dramatically, and exchanged a worried glance with all around the table. "James, mate? What happened?"_

_James pulled a face. "You-Know-Who has begun to attack muggles, outright…Lily's parents ... they're…" swallowing desperatley, James wasn't able to finish the sentence._

_The reactions to the statement varied – Tess's large violet eyes began to swim with tears, Sirius' olive skin whitened visibly, Remus' face remained emotionless, although his hand gripped Tess' so tightly it was turning white, and Peter looked away initially, although when he looked back, his eyes were red._

_It was Amanda who broke the stunned silence. "Oh God…My parents live near Lily's… Does this apartment have a phone? I have to…They…" Swallowing desperately, she got up and walked away from the table, surreptitiously wiping her eyes._

_"That's…bloody hell, that's terrible James. Is there anything we can do to help maybe?" offered Remus._

_James shrugged helplessly. "She's just gone numb…I know how she feels, but I don't know how to reach her."_

_Tess nodded and patter James shoulder. "I'll go talk to her, see what I can do."_

* * *

"Amanda!" the tall dark haired lady in front of him didn'tturn around, so Sirius jogged up to where she was.

"Amanda,"he said again, waving a large hand in front of her hand.

"Why, hello Sirius. I take it you survived then?" she asked archly, determinedly staring straight ahead.

Sirius pulled a revolted face. "Apparently. What _was_ that spell?"

Amanda continued to stare blankly ahead. "Would you be talking about 'Perditioninalie?' by any chance?"

Unable to suppress the slight shudder that went through his tall frame, Sirius nodded. "That sounds like it, yes. What is it?"

"That would be a spell of my own creation." Amanda turned cool blue eyes to look him squarely in the face. "Every moment of hell that you have ever caused me, dating right back to when we were children – that was what you felt. The only exception was that the potency of the feelings was increased ten-fold." She smiled thinly. "I'm guessing it brings new meaning to the Christian belief of whatever you do coming back to you ten times, doesn't it?"

Sirius nodded, and then looked at her, guilt-striken. "Listen…I, well. All those times when, you know – I made you feel upset or…well, anything."

Amanda raised a cynical eyebrow. "Yes?"

"Well, I didn't really _mean_ it. It just. It…"

"Before you get too carried away with your eloquent apology, I have to tell you – that spell was designed specifically for you – you were who I thought of when I created it."

"You mean that it was intentional?"

"Wasn't it always?"

Sirius recoiled and then sneered. "Well then forget apologizing. You're just like all the others – all too willing to use and hurt others."

"Apparently. Trust me when I say I didn't want your apology. Once upon a time, before we broke up – I would have given anything to hear it. Now? Forget it. Things aren't painted so easily in black and white."

* * *

Alastor Moody looked stunned. It was an uncommon look for him, and Albus had to admit, he rather liked the idea that it was he who had Moody flabbergasted.

"What do you mean that raid can't take place in November? Do you have any idea how long it's been planned? Only the top students will be going on the raid, and even then, I'm certain nothing will be found. It's just a good practice. Teaches them to be constantly vigilant, because they'll never know when an attack is going to be coming."

Albus listened patiently to Moody's tirade, and then pushed his half-moon glasses up off his long nose. "How I know of this raid I cannot say. Just rest assured that should it take place, there will be disastrous consequences. It's a trap."

"A trap, eh?" Moody looked consideringly around the perimeter as though thinking of how he could best use this information to his advantage.

"Yes, a trap. And it cannot go ahead."

Moody looked squarely into Dumbledore's twinkling blue eyes. "It can and it will. Forewarned is forearmed. Now that we are aware that there is a trap planned, we can warn them. Constant vigilance!"

Dumbledore raised his eyes heavenward, and then back again, looking evenly into Moody's eyes. It had degenerated into a staring competition and he couldn't help but think that whichever one of them broke eye contact first would be the loser.

"Youdon't understand. I have it on firm authority that this raid _must not take place._ Under any circumstances."

Moody raised his chin defiantly. "I have every faith in you Dumbledore, but in this instance I'll take our chances."

Resisting the urge to use Legimens on him, Dumbledore made one final attempt to reason with him. "You're making that decision for everyone – shouldn't they know that it's a trap and that there is a high chance that they will all die? Alastor, you know how highly irregular it is for me to interfere into your business, but this is of the gravest importance. Will you risk everyone's lives for what? Pride?"

Moody abruptly broke eye contact. "My decision Dumbledore. If you would be so kind as to take your leave?"

Dumbledore stood up gracefully and walked out the door. Setting Sirius's changes in motion was proving to be more difficult than it had seemed.

* * *

It took James several moments to work out where he was after he opened bleary eyes and peered around at his surroundings. Then his brain snapped to and began informing him of exactly where he was and how he came to be there. Cheeks flooding with colour he turned slowly to see who laid beside him.

The crimson haired young-lady beside him turned around sleepily. "I didn't think you were the sort to turn a redd'ner," she said, cockney accent sounding harsh against his ears. James' colour deepened further, assuming such a thing was possible. "You were forward enough last night, laddybuck," she cooed, lazily running a hand down his chest.

James felt his eyes begin to water. What had he done? He attempted to piece together the information. He'd gone to Lily's after Tess's advice…and there's been someone else there with her…and he'd lost his temper…and gone to the pub and had a few ales… and then…

He turned to the lady beside him, still running her hands down his lanky frame. Despite the way his body was beginning to react to her caresses, he pulled away, and hurriedly began putting on clothes. "Going somewhere?" she asked with a wry smile.

James swallowed and nodded nervously. "I'm sorry, I just…I was really drunk, and I…"

The young lady unfolded herself from the bed and James' closed his eyes quickly, but not before getting an image of a curvaceous body and long legs engraved firmly in his mind "No need to apologize, laddy. This is what I do for a living – just remember to pay on your way out."

With that the young copper haired lady in front of him shrugged on a pale blue robe and walked calmly out the room. Sinking down onto the bed that he had just vacated, James placed his head in his hands.

"Good going," he mumbled to himself. "I thought screwing things up like this was meant to be Sirius's specialty, not mine."

* * *

"Where are you going?" Tess asked, watching as Remus threw on a white shirt and dark trousers, admiring the understated muscles in his torso.

Remus turned around whilst buttoning up his shirt. "Work. I have the morning shift, actually."

Tess's face lit up. "Work? You finally got a job? That's great, last time you mentioned it you were having such troubles…Where at? I'll come visit during my lunchbreak."

Remus' face paled. "No need, it's just a little place. Around." He nodded desperately cursing his inability to make up lies on the spot.

"Oh?" Tess asked, arching an eyebrow. "Around…"

"Yes, around," Remus said. He quickly leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. "I'll see you later, alright? I'll Floo you."

Tess nodded and kissed him quickly. The door banged shut as he walked out the door and hurried down the footpath.

"So, love…" she murmured. "Where would they hire a werewolf such as yourself?"

* * *

The one who now called himself James Evans wandered down Diagon Alley, hands in pockets, face closed. The last time he'd been in Diagon Alley had been about 16 years in the future, and there had been wanted signs plastered up all over the place. As always at the thought of Azkaban, his skin turned cold. 13 years…no hope, no joy, no love.

A drop of water on his cheek made him look up to see storm clouds gathering. Cursing, he put his head down as he pulled the pale grey hood over it, and walked quickly to the covered walk-way. It had always rained at Azkaban…

Sirius stared bleakly at the dark sky. Rain, howls of despair and desperate pleas for mercy. Even Avada Kedavra would have been more humane than Azkaban. It seemed that no matter what he did today, his thoughts would be drawn to Azkaban.

Sighing, he ran hair through long dark hair. He had realised earlier that day that he now had grey streaks through his hair. A few years into 30 and he had grey hairs. He was a match for Remus now.

It was bizarre. Strange. Impossible. How was he meant to set the changes needed in motion? Going though Dumbledore had seemed like a good idea, but it seemed impossible now. Dumbledore's influence, although considerable, was not enough to control human nature.

What baffled Sirius further was why some things were changing without his efforts. Last time, he and Amanda had been going out by now. Lily and James had been engaged and living in domestic bliss. About the only couple that was remaining constant was Alice and Frank, and Tess and Remus. _As well as Peter and his hand. That's pretty constant, _came the idle thought from the back of his mind.

"Bloody rat," Sirius whispered under his breath.

Before he could get too carried away with his vengeful thoughts, he felt a small tug at the bottom of his robes. Absent-mindedly, he looked down at the small girl at his feet and in response to her outstretched arms picked her up. He stood looking absent-mindedly at the rain, ignoring the weight of the young girl he'd just picked up. "Sirius," said a lisping voice in his ear. Startled, Sirius turned and looked at the child in his arms. Long dark lashes, creamy skin, and wavy brown hair.

"Pardon?"

"Sir-i-us!" repeated the young girl, emphasizing every syllable. "When did you get old?"

Sirius stared non-pulsed at the snippet of a girl in his arms. "Who…"

"Nymphadora!" came a call from behind him somewhere. "Nymph! Where are you, you little rascal!"

"Dora?" he asked quietly.

"Yess…" she replied, drawing out the s.

Sirius swallowed nervously and turned towards where Andromeda's voice had come from. He'd have to risk facing Andromeda, and give her back Tonks. Hopefully, she wouldn't recognize him as her daughter had.

"C'mon, kiddo," he said quietly. He walked out from under the covered walkway towards the stairs that led to where Amdromeda was searching frantically.

"Nymph? This is not the time to be playing hide and seek!"

One step, two step, almost there. A noise from behind Sirius distracted him, and he turned, loosing his footing on the step as he did so. As if in slow motion he saw the ground rush towards him, and heard Andromeda's voice echo in his ears.

_"Honestly, some man just picked her up and fell. Then he ran away. If I ever get my hands on him…"_

The ground seemed to be getting closer, and Sirius realised that Tonks was going to get most of the impact. He attempted to turn as he fell.

_"Will she be alright?"_

_"The doctor said it'll leave her scarred." A ghost of a smile flashed across Andromedas face. "She's already perfecting her Metamorphmagi abilities to cover it up."_

The force of the impact and Tonks anguished scream as he fell jarred Sirius back to reality. A long scrape ran down the left side of Tonks face, and her arm was twisted out at an odd angle.

A woman with long dark-hair turned at the sound of the screams. A flash of recognition as Sirius looked at his younger relative, and Sirius turned tail and fled. He couldn't face her.

"Oh Merlin, Tonks. I'm so sorry," gasped Sirius as he ran. Once he was a suitable distance away from them, Sirius leant against a wall and hit his head as a baffling thought came to him. In both realities a dark-haired man had dropped Tonks and left her scarred.

Had he been the one to do it both times?

* * *

"Complete anonymity?" queried the warlock in front of him.

"Complete and total anonymity. I would prefer no one to know that my friend and I are staying here," confirmed James Milton.

The warlock nodded, eyes taking in the unconscious and injured blonde woman in his arms, the blood that was splattered on James' robes, the haunted look in his eyes.

"Anonymity you'll have. Just be aware that it comes at a price."

James rolled his eyes, before nodding. He didn't have time to haggle over the price. "Of course. If you'd show us to our room?"

The warlock smiled, showing three missing teeth. "This way then." James followed, keeping a secure hold on the woman in his arms. He didn't want to think of what damage the girl would have received due to the way he'd bee juggling her around. He'f fix her. And then he'd go after Voldemort for doing this to her.

He didn't know why the attack on her was having such an effect on him. He knew what Voldemort did, what he made them do. Hell, he'd done the same to the girls' aunt and uncle for a fee. But the attack on the girl disturbed him, and made him angry.

Once the warlock had shown them to the rooms and left, James walked carefully to the bedroom and laid the girl down on the bed. Surprisingly, the injuries weren't as bad as he had originally thought. A few broken bones were the worst that she'd received – the rest were just surface cuts.

He chewed on his bottom lip nervously. In theory, he knew the general spells for healing. In practice, he'd never used them, tending to use his powers for destruction for the highest bidder.

He took her left arm in both hands, mentally performing the spell that would cause it to heal. He felt a sickening lurch in his stomach as he watched the bone straighten, and heard the girl scream.

"Sorry," he murmured distractedly, before leaning over her collarbone to fix it.

Methodically, he worked over the girls body, healing what he could with magic, and leaving the rest to mend itself. When he'd finished, he looked back over the girl. She looked paler than usual, the normally unnoticeable freckles standing out like on wax. Was the attack on her just a senseless violence that Voldemort loved, or was it an effort to get to him?

He stood and walked towards the doorway. "Be back in a bit," he said to the unconscious girl. He closed the door behind him and locked it with the strongest spells he knew. Amongst other things, Knockturn Alley had a reputation of things going missing, people in particular.

* * *

AN: Once again, sorry for the delay…you should be used to it by now though ;) **Feel free to review and let me know how you think this is going!**

_Sweet 16 Movie Buff_: Um…Sorry? If it helps, your reviews are usually part of what prompts me to write another chapter when I'm about to give up on it :P Hopefully the next chapter will be quicker though. It's a theory, anyway.

_Perenelle:_ Things are getting less hectic which is good – good luck for next year as well! Hope this answered some of your questions

_Amalynne O'hara:_ Random observations are fun! Reviews are fun too!

_Blacklady:_ Don't worry – your English is a lot better than my Spanish! In any case – all reviews are welcome, I love to know if I'm on the right track or not

_Manatheron:_ Wow…your review confused me a little bit. Most of the questions I can't answer because they're plot points, but I was curious about the one regarding Remus – "what is Remus going to do now? especially considering the fact that you have him killing the girl he loved in the past, and have her helping him in the present." Remus hasn't killed anyone :S (although I could be evil and add in a 'yet'...)


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